


Flat White, No Sugar

by fatale_distraction



Series: Making Bad Decisions: The Ellana Saga [4]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Canon Trans Character, Developing Relationship, Eventual Smut, F/M, Hipsters, Other, so fucking hipster
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-04
Updated: 2017-04-16
Packaged: 2018-09-14 17:15:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 30,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9195692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fatale_distraction/pseuds/fatale_distraction
Summary: Your typical Coffee Shop/College AU. Cremisius Aclassi is the star player of his college rugby team, crushing majorly on the barista at his favorite coffee shop. Eventual smut. Minor Adoribull and Dalish/Skinner.





	1. Chapter 1

It was nearly ten o'clock. The Herald's Rest cafe wasn't particularly busy at this time of day, but there were still plenty of people sitting at the tables, reading and writing, studying and making small talk. Strange, colorful paintings that tiptoed the line between realism and abstract decorated the walls, along with artsy black and white photography, and a few polaroids tacked into the plaster. A pinboard near the entrance was covered in playbills, flyers, advertisements, and college club recruitments. The milk steamer hissed, and the fragrant, mouthwatering smell of freshly ground coffee beans permeated the air. 

"Uh...flat white no sugar, caramel latte with extra sugar, a cinnamon hot chocolate, ice green tea, and three black coffees..." Krem recited, fumbling for the leather wallet in his back pocket. The pretty cashier took down the order on a receipt pad with efficient scribbles. Her red hair was knotted up in a bun, frizzed strands escaping in a halo around her head, violet eyes focused vaguely on her work. Every morning, he came to this cafe specifically to see her despite the fact that there was a Nugbucks immediately across the street from the apartment he shared with his coach. The Herald's Rest was just a ten minute walk around the corner, after all; shorter if he drove. 

"Did you want anything else with that?" she asked, looking up at him with a sweet, disarming smile. She blew a tickling strand of hair away from her nose. "Just pulled some french toast bagels out of the oven. Nice and fresh!"

Krem nearly dropped his wallet. "Uh, sure...Just...just the one, please." 

"Sixteen twenty-seven," she totalled, sliding him the handwritten receipt. Her nails were painted a pale, pearly color, chipped around the edges. She'd scrawled a heart next to the total and had forgotten to charge him for the bagle. Krem felt his face heat. By the time he realized and looked up to correct her, she'd already bustled off to start his order. So, he lingered awkwardly at the counter until she returned with the pastry and the three black coffees.

"Uh, you didn't charge me for the bagle..." he began.

"It's on the house." She smiled up at him again. She was significantly shorter than him, even for an elf. She plucked the twenty from his hand while he stammered his thanks, handed him the change, and spun away finish the order. Krem watched until she was sufficiently distracted, crammed the full amount into the tip jar, then leaned against the counter in what he hoped was an air of nonchalance, drumming his fingers on the polished wood counter.

The little barista returned shortly with the rest of his drinks and a little caddy, packing them up for him. "Enjoy!" she chirped with another brilliant smile. 

"Uh...thanks..." mumbled Krem, reaching to take the drinks. His hand brushed hers for the briefest of moments. Rose bloomed more deeply in his cheeks, and he fled the little corner cafe with quick strides of his long legs. Juggling the drinks in one hand, bagel shoved in his mouth already, he pulled the door of his matte black Charger open, keys jingling where they dangled from his pinky. Once he slid into the driver's seat and safely stowed the drinks on the passenger's side, he clutched the wheel, took a deep, steadying breath, and then hit his head on the horn. "Damnit..." he muttered in frustration, turning the ignition as he lifted his head back up, face still red. He switched into gear and with a one-handed jerk of the wheel, pulled away from the curb.

 

"Got the drinks!" Krem booted the locker room door open, keys dangling from his mouth, hands full with the team's coffee.

"Good man!" Coach Iron Bull gave him a hearty clap on the shoulder that might have floored a weaker man, but Krem only stumbled a bit. Bull snatched up his cocoa, while the rest of the squad swarmed him for their drinks, leaving Krem with his usual flat white. The rest of the team would show up later, but for now it was just the inner circle of the Bull's Chargers. "So," drawled Bull, teasing. "Was your pretty little barista there?"

Krem gave an uneasy laugh. "She's not _my_ anything..."

"Meaning she was there and he blew it again," snarked Skinner in her thick Orlesian accent, sipping her latte noisily.  

The Chargers exploded into a chorus of groans and half-hearted insults. Wadded up paper was hurled his way, bouncing harmlessly off his chest and forehead while he rolled his eyes. 

"You'll never get her if you can't even talk to her," Stitches shook his head, stirring the ice in his drink.

Krem dropped into a chair, straddling the backrest. "I can't ask her out at work!" he protested, resting his chin on his crossed arms.

"Why not?" Rocky asked. "It's not like she can say no. The customer is always right!" The dwarf winked and was promptly smacked across the back of the head by Dalish.

"Creep," she said without much sting. She took an elegant drink of her coffee. "She goes here, doesn't she? Don't ye have any classes with her?"

Krem shook his head. "No...I think she's older than me. Seems like she's in a lot of higher level classes. That or she's just smart as hell."

"Probably both," mused Stitches. "She seems bright enough..." 

Grim grunted in agreement. He didn't talk much. 

"She in any clubs?" asked Rocky. 

"Maybe if yeh creeps would quit stalkin' the poor lamb, she'd actually say yes when Krem asks her out," Dalish pointed out, leaning back in her seat and slapping Skinner a high five. "Also I've totally seen her hanging out with Professor Pavus. Like, all the time. She's likely in his theater group."

Krem jolted to his feet, nearly falling over backwards, the chair clattering to the floor. His cup splashed scalding coffee over his hand as he whirled angrily to Iron Bull. "PAVUS?! What the hell, Chief, why didn't you ever say anything?!"

Bull shrugged his enormous shoulders. "I dunno why you think I'd know what Pavus gets up to..." he dodged. 

"BECAUSE YOU'RE SLEEPING WITH HIM!" Krem shouted, voice cracking in a way he might have resented in different company. None of his team would ever mention it, though he saw Dalish shoot poorly concealed but harmless smile at her girlfriend.

Bull pressed an offended hand to his heart. "Cremisius, I am shocked and hurt! I would never jeopardize my tenure with a casual dalliance with another educator! The very idea..."

"Don't you do it--" warned Krem.

"I would've thought you'd be more of Aclassi guy than to accuse me of such vile acts!" Iron Bull ignored him completely, charging ahead relentlessly with his pun. The entire team groaned and Krem hurled a rugby ball at him. 

"I sleep in the next room over, I know EXACTLY what kind of filth you get up to in there!" he exasperated to a chorus of interested noises.

"Do tell, Chief!" Dalish purred. Grim made a disgusted noise and the others protested loudly.

"All right, all right," Bull put his hands up defensively. "Krem, you wanna get in that theater class, I'll take you up there, have a talk with Pavus after practice. You'll get your girl yet." 

Krem felt his frustration fizzle away, replaced by the sweet rise of relief. "Really?" he breathed, grinning. Immediately his face fell, relief replaced by uncertainty. "Can you imagine me on a stage, though? Up there under those lights, saying all those pretty words from like...Shakespeare and shit?"

 

 

"Shakespeare is shit," Dorian Pavus snapped the little paperback shut and hurled it over his shoulder. His regulars chuckled, the newer kids looking around awkwardly. "Yes, you heard me right. Shakespeare is as prevalent as he is because no one holds the copyright to his works, so amateur productions don't have to pay royalties to perform them. That being said..." The professor clapped a dark hand onto the box of playbooks sitting on top of his desk with an emphatic flourish. He rolled his eyes and sighed. "We will be reading Shakespeare's 'Hamlet'--shut UP." He snarled at the front row of students who had burst into hysterics, tossing the playbooks at them. "Theater doesn't get half the budget it should, so royalty-free it is."

"What if we wrote our own plays, P?" asked Sera without waiting to be called on, even though her hand was in the air.

"A brilliant idea, Miss Sera," he smiled facetiously. "Ah, Ellana...would you care to remind your weird little friend what happened last time I included a play-writing section in my class?"

The redhead leaned on Sera's shoulder and whispered in her ear. "Oh. Right. Sorry about the curtains, P..." snickered the blonde elf, slinging an arm around her friend.

After her morning shift at the cafe, Ellana walked the short distance to school for Pavus' afternoon drama course. It was her only class on Wednesdays, and it was her favorite. She'd taken it every semester since her freshman year, alongside Sera. Together, they terrorized the stage, got on every single one of Dorian's nerves, and he adored them for it. For all his bluster and flair, Pavus was a good teacher, and he had a passion which few other teachers could claim. He knew the subject matter better than anyone else in his field; knew it well enough to analyze it from twenty different angles and still find something new to expound on. He thrived on input from his students, even when it was as inane and non-sequitur as Sera's contributions. He ran through the first act with the class, prodding them for their read on the characters, encouraging them to think outside of whatever the original intent was and figure out what it meant to them in a modern context, and that was just in his theater classes. He also taught theoretical physics, in which field he was also a leading expert, and he brought the same passion into that classroom as he did into the theater.  

"No, no, no!" he projected, slapping the playbook against the palm of his hand. "You are reading for Ophelia, for the love of Andraste, not Katerina! Sorrow, heart-break! Your father is dead at the hands of your lover and you are mad with despair! El," he pointed a gold-ringed finger at her. "Be an absolute peach and show our emotionally challenged Sera how the lines are _supposed_ to be read?"

The blonde elf rolled her eyes and plopped back down into the stiff, velvet-lined theater seat as her friend rose and took the floor. She looked over the script Pavus handed her. "Um...Pavus, this was never--"

"I know," he grumbled. "I improved it."

"Improved...Shakespeare?" she repeated, lifting a skeptical brow.

"No fair!" Sera shouted. "Why do you get to write stuff?! I want to write stuff?!"

"And will you be paying to replace my curtains again?" snapped Dorian. Sera shut up quickly and Ellana sighed, flipping through the script.

"You added Ophelia's death scene?" she asked in surprise. "Won't this take away from Queen Gertrude's announcement later? It's one of the most poetic--" 

"Cop outs in playwriting history? Yes, it is. Read the script, Lavellan."

 

 

"I'm really not sure about this, Chief..." Krem was saying, heart pounding in his chest as they headed down the tiled hall toward the theater, Dalish excitedly in tow. His nails played at the cardboard cozy around his coffee. "I don't think I've got what it takes for this...theater business."

The Iron Bull snorted. "Please. You'll be a regular...E. E. Kremmings." Dalish choked on a laugh and a mouthful of hot dark roast while Krem groaned loudly. "Besides, if it turns out you suck, you can always ask your pretty barista for some...acting lessons."

"She's  _not_ my--"

"Might want to ask anyway," interrupted Dalish, lilting voice a bit raspy from the burn of coffee in her nose. "Introduce her to Nancy...and that shiny new bench seat you got installed in 'er."

It was Krem's turn to choke while Bull guffawed. Quieting himself, he reached a large hand for a set of double doors marked by a plaque that read 'West Theater', and a handwritten note taped underneath bearing the ominous declaration, "Be Quiet Or I Will Find You."

Ellana stood on top of a desk just in front of the main stage, a table cloth draped around her artistically, eyes wild and a manic, strained smile cut across her face, reciting a heartbreaking line from the script clutched in her hand. The class was riveted to her performance, and Krem watched, awestruck as she spoke the the sky, to the birds, contemplated death with the deranged cheer of a woman broken, shattered by loss. With a final, tearful cry, the elf toppled off the desk, to the entertained shock of the other students and landed neatly in her teacher's exasperated but outstretched arms.

"And _that_ ," Pavus announced among wild applause, carelessly setting his student back on her feet. "Is how you read Shakespeare."

"Professor, isn't that the bit you wrote?" Sera asked, hand in the air.

"Of course, my dear," he smiled, without missing a beat. "That's why it's better." 

Giggling, Ellana turned to head back to her seat. Catching sight of the back doors, she suddenly felt like she might follow the example of her muse and jump off a tree. Standing there, politely clapping with the rest, was Coach Iron Bull and two of The Chargers, one of whom she recognized immediately as the rugby team's star fly half, Cremisius Aclassi. He had a name like an old Tevinter gladiator and a chiseled face and lean, muscular body to match. He came to her coffee shop every single day and ordered a flat white, no sugar, drove the sexiest black 1976 Charger she'd ever seen, and never had an umbrella when it rained.

She was smitten. Worse, everybody seemed to know it. Her cheeks immediately flushed pink and she skittered back to her seat, repeatedly punching Sera, who was laughing hysterically and without the least attempt at discretion. The dark skinned boy leaned against the doorframe, observing the class with a casual air, well-muscled arms crossed over his broad chest, a familiar cup dangling from his fingers. He made the simple combination of worn blue jeans, a plain black tee, and docs look effortlessly stylish, topped off by his deep red letterman jacket. Ellana peeked at him over her shoulder, biting her lip to hide a smile while Sera continued her hysterics. 

"Ah...Coach..." Pavus cleared his throat. "What brings you here? During class? Like we discussed never to do? For...legal reasons?" His voice was pitched unnecessarily low. There wasn't a student or faculty member who didn't know the pair were fucking, and so long as they were discreet, Dean de Fer could not possibly be bothered to give even half of a crap. 

"Not a personal visit this time," boomed Bull without a care in the world for anything even remotely resembling decorum. He clapped a giant hand on Cremisius' shoulder in a gesture that made half the classroom wince in sympathy, but the younger man hardly seemed to notice the freight train that had just plowed full force into him. "My boy Krem here needs a non-sports extra-curricular to keep his scholarship. That's a thing, right?" he mumbled to the blonde dalish girl beside him, who just laughed. "He's got a flair for the dramatic, so I figured I'd hoist him off on you."

The boy in question cocked an eyebrow at this statement, half-turning to glare up at his coach. 

"Hoist off--now listen here," Dorian groused. "I'm no charity. Enrollment was last month! He's four weeks behind already, and with auditions coming up he'll be lucky to play Tree Number Two."

"I can play a tree," Krem replied. The rest of the class snickered while Pavus scoffed. Ellana was practically swooning over the deep, wonderfully-accented nonchalance with which he delivered the inane statement. 

"Oi, P," Sera raised her hand again. Ellana grappled with her, trying in vain to tug her arm back down. "I bet if El here tutored him, caught him up, you know? Reckon he might be good enough to play Guard Number Two! Got a whole line, don't he?" 

Dorian sighed, massaging the bridge of his nose. "Blue bloody blazes..." he muttered. "Fine. Lavellan, you can try to catch him up on the month's lectures, run through some acting exercises with him, and if he isn't fit to be onstage by auditions, well, we can just have him haul the curtains with those beefy arms of his, can't we?"

Krem shifted uncomfortably, sharing an odd look with the professor, eyes darting to Ellana. Dorian nodded imperceptibly.

 

"Sorry about all this..." apologized Krem, hands crammed into the pockets of his jacket. "'M sure you've got better things to do than catch me up on four weeks of lecture..."

"It's fine, really." Ellana was sitting on the hood of his car, Krem leaning beside her, the metal cool against her thighs through the short skirt and wool tights she wore. The autumn sky was overcast and dreary, but she thrived on this kind of weather, bundled in a chunky, hand-knit sweater and thick boots. She was sifting through the notes she'd taken in a messy composition book, cover in doodles and scribbles, stuffed with loose pages, sticky notes shaped like stars, and even a few crumpled napkins taped in, all written in a rainbow of random differently colored inks. "I don't mind...hanging out on this gorgeous car with the Chargers' star player? I can think of worse ways to spend an afternoon," she giggled. 

Krem laughed. "I dunno about star player," he said, giving the hood of his car a fond pat. "But Nancy is definitely the hottest babe in Ferelden."

"Your car's name is Nancy?" Ellana asked, stifling more giggles in an attempt to seem less insipid. She was a nervous laugher. 

"What, you've got a better one?" shot Krem, a smile taking the edge off his words. 

"No, no..." she shook her head. "It suits her. She's lovely."

Krem flipped through one of the notebooks she handed him. Despite the clutter, her notes were thorough, if a bit scattered, and were accompanied by her own additions and commentary, along with plenty of doodles of Professor Pavus' famed moustache. There were a few more crude drawings done in a less practiced, sloppier hand, mostly of butts, with a few over-engorged penises and one very detailed vagina, bursting obscenely from the page.

"Uhh..." Krem stared at it, blushing deep, deep red. 

"Sera," the redhead waved a dismissive hand, not even looking up from a second notebook. "She thinks she's funny. But, she's my best friend, so I suppose I have to put up with her." She flashed a pretty smile that only served to deepen the rosy blush across Krem's face. "Anyway, you're welcome to take all these home to study. I can quiz you on things, and we can do a few exercises a day, get you up to snuff."

"Exercises..." he mumbled, scratching at the back of his neck. "Right. For the...acting." A wet drop on his forehead drew his attention skyward. The grey clouds above had darkened to a heavy, smoky black. A light rain began to mist the air. Krem closed his eyes for a moment and lifted his face to the sky, letting the water cool his hot cheeks. Ellana paused in the shuffling of her notes, watched the rain drip down his face, leaving crystalline trails behind that traced the sharp angles of his face, collecting at the corner of his mouth and dropping from his parted lips. Staring, she nearly slapped herself across the face to stop herself from just leaning forward and kissing the sweet rain away...

Rain. "Oh," It was raining. "Shit!" she exclaimed, quickly gathering the mess of papers strewn across the hood of the car. 

Krem's eyes flashed open. "Shit!" he echoed, grabbing up notebooks and stray pages and leaping off the car with a twist of his long legs. Shifting the pile of damp paper to one arm, he fumbled in his pants pocket for his keys, cramming them into the lock and yanking the door open. Arms full, Ellana shot in through the driver's side and squirmed across to the passenger seat. Krem slide in after her and snapped the door shut, turning the ignition with a satisfying rumble and punching the heater on. 

The elven girl was laughing again, cheeks flushed, hair stuck to her forehead, her freckled face sprinkled with jewels of moisture. She was ethereal in that moment, in Krem's eyes.

"Well," she gasped, "So much for studying." The pair shared an awkward laugh as they checked over the papers for damage. Luckily, it wasn't too bad, and they spread the most soggy pages over the air vents to dry. "We can try again tomorrow?"

"Yeah, maybe indoors this time," he suggested. "Where d'you live? I can drop you off, unless you've got another class?"

She shook her head. "No, but I'm not far...I should be fine walking..." A sudden torrent of water thundered against the car as the rain picked up. "Or not."

Krem laughed and disengaged the parking brake, jerking into gear and carefully pulling out of the lot, buckling his seatbelt one-handed. Ellana buckled up as well and began directing him to her apartment. The car interior was just as beautiful as the rest of it, she noticed as Krem drove. The cab was clean and tidy, with polished leather seats and a modern, customized sound system. The whole car smelled of leather, citrus, and spice, a perfectly heady mix that she'd caught on the air every time he came into the cafe, and that she definitely did not purposely lean forward and sniff when he wasn't looking. She poked through the center console and found a nice collection of classic rock, and even a bit of jazz. She pulled out a copy of Madonna's Immaculate Collection and held the familiar, polka-dotted disc up with a pointed look at her driver. Krem glanced at it out of the corner of his eye.

"Anyone who says they don't like Madonna is a fucking liar," he said. "Everyone likes that album. Everyone."

She laughed and put it back.

"You alright?" he asked, eyes glued to the road as his leg worked the clutch, switching gear. He clarified at her confused look, "You keep sniffing. Gettin' a cold?"

"Oh..." she faltered, turning a vibrant shade of scarlet. "N-no, I'm fine, it's just...it smells really good in here." 

Krem chuckled a bit and reached for the glove box in front of her. He released the latch and dug out a glass bottle with Tevinter script on it and handed it to her, somehow managing to keep the car steady while he did so. "Like that?"

With a shy smile, Ellana popped the cap off and took a whiff that would have knocked her knees right out from under her if she weren't already sitting. 

"Some fancy cologne my dad used to use. Coach got it for me last year for my birthday. He spoils us," he explained. 

"Apparently." She capped the cologne, resisting the urge to stash it in her purse, and carefully replaced it in the glove box. "He must really care about you guys." Ellana smiled, touched by the heart of the big, slightly terrifying rugby coach. 

"Yeah, he's a great guy...big ol' teddy bear. Fought like hell to get our league Co-Ed. We've got some real tough girls on the team..." He leaned his cheek on his knuckles, gazing thoughtfully at the road through the rain-streaked window, fogging from his breath. Ellana watched him for a moment before slipping a stealthy hand into her shoulder bag and pulling out a refurbished polaroid. She lined her shot up with practiced efficiency, the grey light filtering through the windows, highlighting the long, sharp line of his nose, squaring his cheekbones, lighting up the remaining little smudges of rain on his dark skin. The shutter startled him, and he threw a quick glance sideways as one hand twisted the wheel into a smooth right turn, the leather whispering against his palm as he let it return to its position. "Wh--did you...Is that a fucking polaroid?" he stammered.

She hummed her agreement as the camera whirred and slowly spat out the picture sheet. She shook it, then let it rest flat on her lap. "You have an amazing profile. Up here on the right," she instructed, pointing out her building.

"Uh...thanks..." mumbled Krem, sliding up to the curb and backing into a space with a few expert maneuvers. "D'you... _live_ at the coffee shop?" he asked, looking up at the familiar building. How had he not noticed where they were heading?

"There's an apartment above it. My sister owns the building," she replied, carefully stowing her camera away and collecting her notes. "Convenient, right? D'you know, Professor Pavus lives just down the block?"

Krem snorted indelicately. "No he doesn't," he said in a low voice, leaning closer, letting the car idle. "The building down on Fifth, yeah? That's where Coach and I live. Pavus lives across town in a goddamn penthouse, the bastard."

Ellana tilted her head in confusion. "But I always see him coming out of there...oh..." Realization dawned on her face and she hid a giggle in her hand. 

"Ask me the last time I got night of sleep uninterrupted by weird sex noises," he grimaced. 

"I can imagine..." she laughed, undoing her seatbelt. "So...no studying at your place. Got it."

"Not unless I can get those animals out of the house for a few hours, no." He grinned. "So...I can...pick you up tomorrow? What time are you off work?"

"Thursday is my day off," she said. "We can just hang out in the shop, if you like? I get free coffee..." she wiggled in her seat, tempting him with offers of free caffeine. His ripped his eyes away from the way her rear squirmed against his leather seats. 

"Uhh...sounds good. I'll...meet you here, then? Noon?"

"Perfect." She grinned and slipped out of the warmth of the car and into the rain. "Oh, wait..." she called after shutting the door. Krem leaned across the cab and rolled the window down. She leaned in, and he found himself picturing what it must look like from outside, her bent over with her head in the window and her ass out. He shook his head quickly and looked at the object she was holding out to him. It was the picture she'd taken, fully developed now. It was good. The style echoed what he'd seen hanging on the walls inside the Herald's Rest. He reached hesitating fingers for it, but stopped himself.

"Make me a copy," he said with a grin. She smiled back and withdrew from the car.

"Sure." Ellana slipped it into her bag, still smiling sweetly, and waved goodbye as she jogged through the rain to a set of stairs along the side of the cafe.

Krem watched until she was out of sight, then leaned back in his seat, letting out a long, shaky breath. "Holy shit..." he muttered, running a hand over his face. "Holy shit..."  

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Skinner had the caramel latte with extra sugar. Because I adore the trope of the snarky, violent asshole with an enormous sweet tooth.  
> Stitches had the green tea, Bull had his cocoa, and Dalish, Rocky, and Grim all had the black coffee.
> 
> Dorian's behavior as a theater teacher was heavily influenced by my high school drama teacher, and also an English teacher I had in college who absolutely DESPISED Shakespeare. She didn't actually write new pieces for the plays (that I know of), but she had a lot of criticism for old Willy.
> 
> Thanks for reading! Please comment or message me with any questions, concerns, or constructive critiques. You can scream at my Inbox on tumblr at fatale-distraction.tumblr.com


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like it to be known that when I opened this chapter for editing, I realized that I had used the phrase "Blepity dooby" as place-holder text and the posting of this was heavily delayed by the amount of time I spent laughing at my own dumb ass.

Cremisius burst into his apartment, eager to share the success of his afternoon with Bull. He immediately screamed and retreated, slamming the door shut behind him. 

"Come on, Coach, I eat at that table!" he shouted from the hallway, ignoring the odd look from the weird old lady who always sat outside her apartment on a lawn chair. Upon opening the door, he had been greeted by the generous sight of The Iron Bull's ample, muscular ass as the Qunari rammed into Dorian, who was splayed across the dining table with his cheek pushed to the table and Bull's fist in his hair. The Tevene was groaning, wanton and uninhibited, begging with mounting fervor.

Krem waited in the hall, trying to block out the sound of the two men coming in tandem. The old lady was still staring at him with increasing disapproval. He gave her a tight smile, and she scowled. Silence followed a deafening bellow from Bull, Krem wondering what the chances of the ground just opening up and swallowing him into hell were. The old lady harrumphed. 

"Sorry 'bout that Krem," Bull said, opening the door, mercifully wearing pants, though nothing else. "Ma'am." He tipped his horns at the sour old woman while Krem bustled inside. The apartment was a two bedroom, the kitchen joined to the living area by a half-wall, against which the defiled dining table was pushed. A decently sized flatscreen was mounted on the wall of the living room, flanked by a set of bookcases. Dorian was lounging on the plush couch, his only modesty being a towel draped over his lap, with his feet up on the coffee table and a cigarette smoldering between his fingers. 

"What the hell happened to the sock?" the younger man bit out. "You're going to disinfect the table, right?"

"I believe all the spare socks have disappeared into your room, my boy," snarked Dorian as Bull passed into the joined kitchen and dining area and rummaged in the fridge while Krem glared at his teacher.

"You're going to get fired one of these days," he grumbled.

"Tenure~" sang Dorian with a languid stretch. Bull returned with a trio of beers in one massive hand, tossing one to Krem in apology. "Anyway, we thought you'd be gone for at least a few hours...Struck out already?"

"No. We were hanging out in the parking lot when the sky opened up and decided to take a piss on us," he grumbled, taking a swig of the beer.

"Sounds like a real mood dampener," quipped Bull, flopping down on the couch next to Dorian and handing him a bottle. Both of the other men groaned.

"Anyway, I dropped her off, and now we've got a study date tomorrow." Krem was grinning ear to ear. 

"Alright, that's my Krem-Puff!" thundered the coach.

Dorian smiled. "Very good...you take care of her, now. She's my favorite. Haven't seen a wit like hers in all my years of teaching."

"And how many years is that, exactly?"

"You shut that pretty mouth of yours," he scowled. "Or I will remove this towel and throw it at you."

 

* * *

 

 

When Krem arrived at Herald's Rest the next morning, there was a young man at the register, shadowed by a vaguely familiar woman in a frilly apron and combat boots. He assumed she was the owner, Ellana's sister. The elven woman bore a striking resemblance to Ellana, though taller and darker of complexion. The young man was human, quite tall, with a sallow face and messy blonde hair. 

"But what if they don't want a bagel?" he was asking.

"I'm not saying force them to take the bagel," groaned the woman with an exasperated look. "Just ask, okay? Offer half-off if you have to, we've gotta get rid of these stupid things..."

"Why?"

"I accidentally quadrupled the recipe this morning."

Krem's attention was drawn by the sound of laughter, and he found Ellana sitting at a table near the counter, a stack of notebooks at her feet and a novel open in front of her. She was wearing what seemed to be her usual uniform of an over-sized sweater, short skirt, and thick leggings. "How did you manage that, Eve?"

"Shut up, that's how," replied her sister. 

"Just be nicer to Cole, he's trying."

"I'm trying," he confirmed. 

Krem approached the table, trying to look handsome and casual, and probably failing miserably. "Hey." His voice cracked in his throat, betrayed by his nervousness. He tried to ignore the way Eve's eyes locked on him and stayed there, smirking cat-like. "Enjoying your day off?"

She giggled. "I just like seeing my sister suffer." 

"Brat," snapped the other woman, still staring at Krem.

He stifled a laugh and slid into the seat across from Ellana, stretching out his long legs. His legs were one of his better qualities. He knew it, and had worn a pair of tight black jeans the better to show them off. "Well, I see where you get it from."

"'It' being the attitude, or my adorable face?" The redhead grinned facetiously. 

"Yes," replied Krem.

"Ooh, good answer..." he heard Eve say to Cole behind him. 

 

The pale young man, Cole, brought them coffee and a plate of bagels, keeping their cups filled while they worked, and Eve would occasionally pop into the conversation to offer her own advice as she bustled efficiently around the shop. Ellana was a fun tutor, clever and passionate, though she tended toward distraction and would go off on long, stream-of-consciousness tangents. Krem hardly minded, loving the opportunity to see her fired up, expounding on the subject of imagery in theater or the importance of word choice and rhythm in speech. It was easy to see why she was a favorite of Dorian's.

"Anyway, that's basically why it's so important to be earnest..."

"Uh huh..."

"That was a joke."

"Ah..."

"Oh, shut up..." she pouted.

Krem laughed. That was all he seemed to do around her; laugh and smile, blush and try to keep his heart rate at a halfway reasonable pace. The coffee didn't help much with this last bit. He could hardly believe his own luck, sitting and talking with the girl he'd admired from afar for months, and for the second time in as many days. It was almost enough to purge his brain of the image of Dorian's svelte, cinnamon ass getting nailed by his coach. Almost. His face pulled an involuntary grimace as the memory resurfaced, seemingly branded into his mind forever. 

"Are you okay?" 

"What?" he jerked at Ellana's concerned question. She'd reached out and touched his hand, brows lifted as she peered into his face. 

"You look like you bit into rashvine or something..."

"Yeah...well, I'd prefer a mouth full of rashvine than the sight that welcomed me home last night..." he grumbled, rubbing the back of his neck. "It was...a harrowing experience."

The girl's eyes grew wide. "What was it?" she whispered.

"Coach and Pavus."

"Oh?"

"On the kitchen table."

"OH."

"It was traumatic."

"You poor thing!" she cried, squeezing his hand sympathetically. Krem wasn't above a little acting practice, playing up his unequaled distress. Her hands were soft and supple beneath his callused fingers. He rubbed the pad of his thumb over her knuckles, a heavy tingle in his longing lips. He resisted the urge to lift her fingers to his lips and kiss each one. "I suppose if you had to see an ass, at least it was a nice one..." she was musing.

Krem snorted. "Dorian may have a good ass, but I could have gone my entire life without seeing it spread-eagle on the table. I eat my breakfast there!"

She was trying so hard not to laugh, biting her lips, cheeks turning red. She cracked and dropped her head to the table and gave over to a laugh that wracked her shoulders. "You poor thing!" she gasped through her fit. Krem couldn't help but join in. Her mirth was contagious, even in the light of such a traumatic experience as being exposed to Guy Ass. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Please comment or message me with any questions, concerns, or constructive critiques. You can scream at my inbox on tumblr at fatale-distraction.tumblr.com


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short interlude before chapter 3. Writer's block has me in its clutches, so my sister sent me a prompt to help get my mind back on the right track. Enjoy Eve being awkward~

“So…he’s pretty cute.” Evelyn was in the middle of preparing a late-night order while her sister helped clean up for the evening. Until they could hire another couple of employees, the Herald’s Rest couldn’t operate around the clock, and they typically closed up shop around 10PM. 

“Yeah…” Ellana sighed, planting her elbow in a puddle of spilled coffee she was supposed to be cleaning up, her eyes dreamy as she thought of Cremisius, his cock-sure grin and the way his muscular calves stretched the tight jeans he'd worn earlier that morning. 

“Flat white, no sugar, right? He tips well.” Evelyn smirked at her younger sister. “I think he li~kes you…”

Ellana was about to send a rude retort her way when the bell above the door jingled. Both girls craned their necks to see a tall, blonde man enter. His windbreaker had a thick, fluffy lining pulled up around his neck against the frosty autumn night, the gold of his badge catching in the low light. A huge black mabari strained at the thick leather lead clutched in the officer’s gloved hand. The dog, while clearly still a puppy, was enormous, even for her breed. Her muscles stood out impressively as she tugged ineffectually at her leash, but the officer didn’t seem to be exerting much effort to keep her in check despite her size.

“Hello, ladies!” the man said with an embarrassed wave. “Still open?”

“Officer Rutherford, you know Eve won’t close up until you’ve got your coffee!” Ellana simpered, dodging a stealthy kick from her sister, who nearly lost her balance, slipping in some of the coffee that had dripped into the floor.

The man laughed. “Well, I appreciate that. You girls brew the best cup in town; I don’t know how I’d keep awake without it–Guinevere, HEEL.” He gave the lead a gentle yank as the dog stretched her nose around the counter, sniffing curiously. 

“We try,” Evelyn said, unusually stiff. “It’s the least we can do. You do a lot for the community.”

He smiled at that, gentle and tired. He always had dark circles under his eyes, yet he rarely seemed to be in a bad mood. “I try,” he sighed. “I grew up not far from here. Reminds me of home. If I didn’t do my best, I couldn’t live with myself.”

Evelyn nodded with an understanding smile. “We know, Officer.” She set a drink caddy and paper bag on the counter. “Two double-brewed with extra cream, and a raspberry danish, right?” 

Cullen grinned, looking bashful. Ellana squinted at the bag while he paid, which seemed unusually full for just a danish. Evelyn had crammed it full of the bagels she’d been trying to get rid of all day. Eve dropped a handful of coins while making change, and her sister stooped to collect them. She knew in Eve's current state, she'd only bump her head on the way back up if she picked them up. 

A scuffling noise nearby caught her attention and she looked down to see the mabari had managed to stretch her neck out far enough to get a mouthful of bagels sitting on the counter.

“Guinevere!” shouted Cullen. The dog winced but scarfed the bagels down anyway. “I’m so sorry–I’m still training her…Bad dog!” Guinevere wagged her tail happily and he sighed. 

“It’s fine,” Evelyn choked through tears of laughter. “I made too much this morning…she’s completely welcome to them!”

“She could at least ask.” Cullen’s lips twitched in an amused smile, sharing a look with the elf woman. “You ladies have a good evening. Stay safe.”

Ellana grinned obnoxiously at her sister as the officer left, scolding the mabari all the way. Eve glared at her. “Shut up.”

“He li~kes you…”

“Shut UP.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Please comment or message me with any questions, concerns, or constructive critiques. You can scream at my inbox on tumblr at fatale-distraction.tumblr.com


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some tension in this chapter regarding the relationship between Tevinter and the Dalish, which I tried to approach as respectfully as I could. Feel free to comment or message any concerns you may have!

"So, what's the deal? Are you guys dating or what?" Sera asked through a mouthful of masticated potato, gesturing with a ranch-covered french fry. She sat across from Ellana in the sunny cafeteria at a table for two next to a wide window, well away from the main crush of students. 

Ellana squirmed and toyed with her pudding with a spork. "We only went for coffee the one time. I haven't even actually known him for more than a few days..."

"D'you give him your number?"

"No, not yet..."

"Well why the hell not?" Sera swept her arm in an incredulous arc, sending drops of ranch flying and earning herself a few scattered glares which she didn't deign to notice. "Get those digits! Blow his phone to shit with cute selfies and those little heart thingies."

The Dalish elf whined, kicking her feet under the cafeteria table. She usually didn't eat here; her sister was a better cook, and it was only a ten minute walk to Herald's Rest, but Sera had declared herself 'too friggin lazy', so they were stuck with freezer fries and questionable pudding cups. "I don't want to come off as weird or anything..."

Sera gave a dismissive snort. "Cute girls like you don't come off as weird. S'only weird if you're an uggo."

"Sera!" 

"What? Look, if you're cute, but also weird, it's 'quirky', and that's good, yeah? But if you're scary-lookin to guys, like me, it's bad-weird." She gestured to herself, her couldn't-care-less haircut, torn flannel, torn jeans, torn basically everything else. She had her fair share of female admirers, but most men avoided her like the plague, which was exactly how she preferred it. 

Ellana groaned. "Life isn't a John Green novel, Sera..."

"Not the way you play it," the blonde said with another derisive snort. "Just give the man your number! Carve it on an apple and throw it at him or something!"

"Sera..."

"OOH!" she slammed her hand down on the table hard enough to startle a nearby freshman into dropping their thankfully empty tray. "Write it on his coffee cup!"

"Sera."

"NO! Write it in the foam! No, it'll get all sloshy..."

"Sera!"

"Or just go up and ask him. He's over there." The other elf tilted precariously on the back legs of her chair, slurping her drink loudly and lifting a pinky to point toward the registers.

Ellana spun in her seat, the chair making a horrendous screeching noise as her violet eyes skimmed the crowd, finally landing on the trim, tall figure of Cremisius. He was waiting in line for food, wearing a tight, heavy duty spandex racerback that displayed the thick, sculpted muscles of his back, shoulders, and arms in their absolute best light. A pair of sweats hung loose and tantalizing around his hips, stained with grass and mud, and his skin glistened like amber, his dark hair damp and messy like he'd just stepped out of a shower. Two women, both elves, were with him. One Ellana recognized as having accompanied Krem to the auditorium. She was very tall, with braided white-blonde hair, ice-grey eyes and vallaslin that dotted and lined her skin in green. The other woman was darker, shorter, and her pointed features were bare and free of blood writing, her arm slung possessively around the taller girl's hips. 

It was the shorter elf who caught Ellana staring wide-eyed, and nudged Krem with a sharp elbow to the gut that provoked no more of a reaction than an irritated glance. She jerked her head toward the window where Ellana was now trying to pretend like she hadn't been staring, and where Sera was openly kicking her friend under the table. Their eyes met across the room and they both flushed, Krem unable to hide the grin that spread across his face upon spotting her. His heart pulled when she cast shy eyes downward with a charming little laugh. Before he knew what he was doing, his long legs had carried him across the cafeteria to lean against the table next to her.

"Hey," he said, scratching the back of his neck.

"Hey."

Sera snorted. "Right. Clearly the pair of you have a riveting conversation to continue, sooo....bye." She slid out of her seat, taking her ranch-covered tray with her, and swaggered over to Dalish and Skinner to join them in poking fun at their friends. 

"Game today?" Ellana said after the prolonged stretch of silence that reigned after Sera's abrupt departure. 

"Nah, just practice today. All day." He grimaced. "Coach wants us ready for this weekend. Lots of huge-ass guys on this team from Kirkwall. Think they can dominate the field with bulk instead of skill. We'll run circles around 'em though," he assured her with a look of pride.

"Sounds exciting," said Ellana, tucking a stray strand of hair that refused to stay put behind her ear. "I'll be there cheering you on, then." She pumped a fist in excitement and the strand slipped loose again, framing the curve of her jaw.

Krem's eyebrows rose in surprise, and he felt his cheeks heat. "Really? You'll come watch us play?"

"Of course! We're friends, aren't we?" She smiled, sweet and disarming, and Krem felt warmth thrumming through him again as he matched her smile and nodded in agreement. "Just make sure you win for me, okay?"

"Definitely." He was grinning ear to ear, rubbing at the back of his neck again. "Um, I was actually hoping...I was going through your notes earlier..."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. And, I was hoping..." He shifted his weight from one leg to the other and back again. "Maybe after practice you could help me with a few, um...exercises? Or something." He coughed. 

The red-head's smile only widened, flashing a slightly crooked row of bottom teeth. "Sure! I've got class with Pavus until four. I can meet you in the parking lot afterward?"

"Uh, sure...does the theater class meet today?" Krem asked with an uncertain look.

Ellana gave a quick shake of her head. "No, no. He only took on the theater program for fun. He's actually a doctor of physics. Didn't you know?"

Krem shifted once again, the corners of his mouth pulling in discomfort. "Eh...no...Dorian spends a lot of time at my place with Coach, but I don't actually talk to him much...Reminds me too much of home. You're in a physics class? Which one?" He changed the subject before they got too far down the path of his feelings toward Tevinter. Here be dragons, he thought. 

"Advanced Quantum Mechanics," she responded.

Krem blinked. "Advanced...what? Isn't that a pretty high level class?"

"Well, I am a senior," she smiled. As if advanced quantum mechanics were just no big deal.

Krem blanched. "H-how old did you say you were?"

"ABORT," Dalish shouted from across the room, accompanied by ugly, snorting laughter from Sera.

Ellana just laughed. "I'm twenty-six."

Shit. Shit fuck crap fuckity damn. "Oh." Crap. "Uh. I'm twenty-three. Is...is that weird?"

Her brow furrowed. "I don't see why it would be." Krem relaxed his shoulders at this, only to tense up again as she steered the conversation straight back to the point he'd tried to avoid. "Pavus makes you homesick?"

He coughed into a fist. "Um. No."

"You don't like Tevinter?" She seemed surprised. 

"No. I don't. Why'd you think I let Coach stick all those silly nicknames on me? There's no getting around how 'Vint 'Cremisius' is." He tried to play casual, but his jaw was set stiff.

Ellana sent another sweet smile his way. "I thought it was because you love him."

He laughed a little awkwardly, in a wild fluctuation of tensing and relaxing. "Well, enough to put up with his shit, at least." The more they spoke about Tevinter the more he felt like he was about to fuck things up, but every time she smiled or laughed, he was lulled back into the conversation. "But Tevinter's only a good place to live if you've got magic. A Soporati like me has about as much reason to love Tevinter as the elves do."

"INCORRECT," Dalish shouted again. Krem was already kicking himself mentally, as well as slapping his forehead physically, face scrunched up in self-inflicted anguish. As soon as the words left his mouth, he knew he'd fucked up. Tevinter was never a good subject for discussion, never. 

 "Stupid..." His breath hissed between clenched teeth. He couldn't even look at her. "I'm sorry...I'm so sorry, that was so stupid, I know better than that...'least I'm supposed to..." He wrenched one eye open, expecting her to be furious. That would have been a relief. Instead, she just looked disappointed.

"It's okay," she said, touching his hand. "It happens. We all say stupid shit without meaning to." She smiled, but it was a bit strained. "And at least you know it was bad! That means a lot."

"I'm...I'm so sorry. Dalish is going to murder me for that later...Uh, that's--that's her name, not--"

"I know that's her name," laughed Ellana. His heart wrenched. She laughed so easily, already back to cheery smiles and such prettily flushed cheeks. "Thank you for apologizing. Really." Her fingers squeezed his hand.

"I'm such a moron..." He ran an embarrassed hand over his eyes, the other still firmly tangled between Ellana's small fingers. 

"CORRECT!" shouted Skinner. 

The red-head grinned. "Your girlfriends are cute," she said, waving at them. They waved back along with Sera. 

"They're girlfriends, they're mine, but they are definitely not cute," replied Krem, flipping them off. Ellana laughed again. He could have listened to that sound all day, and for a moment he'd been terrified that he'd never hear it again, due to his own thoughtless comment. "I...I should get my lunch and head back to practice..." He scratched again at the back of his neck. "Coach'll roast me if I'm late, then spend the whole day making Creme Brulee jokes."

Ellana cut herself off in the middle of her own giggle. "Oh, wait! Give me your number!"

"My--what?" His heart raced. 

"So I can text you after class? Is that okay? You still want to practice later, right?"

"I--yes, that's...that's great," he breathed. She still wanted to hang out after class. She wanted his number. Either she was insane or he was. He accepted the phone she handed to him, a tiny lavender case plastered with stickers of planets and stars, and an arrow-shaped charm with a jingling little bell that hung from the headphone jack. "This is the girliest phone I've ever seen..." he said as he typed his number in with trembling hands. For once, he appreciated his long, narrow fingers. Typing on such a small screen would have been impossible otherwise. 

Ellana took her phone back with another giggle. "Great! I'll text you in a bit so you can save my number, too."

"Great. I'll...I'll see you after class, I guess?"

"Yep!"

He paused as he turned to leave, rubbing at the back of his neck. "Um...Ellana?" She tilted her head at him as she stood and shouldered the bag at her feet. She barely came up to his shoulder. "I'm...really, really sorry...No hard feelings...?" His brows were furrowed in silent apology, the guilt obvious on his face as he reached out to touch her arm with a gentle hand. 

She smiled, then chewed on the side of her lip with a devious little dart of violet eyes. She took a step closer, lifted up on her toes and aimed a kiss at his cheek. His breath caught audibly as his throat closed up. She was too short to reach her mark, so she ended up pecking at the side of his chin instead, her nose brushing against his fleshy bottom lip. If he'd angled his face just a bit lower...he swallowed, throat thick.

"You said something stupid. That doesn't mean you're a bad person," she assured him.

"Just a stupid one," he coughed, fire lighting his face all the way up to his ears. 

"Right!"

"Thanks."

 

* * *

 

  
"Bloody fucking smooth you are," Dalish howled, punching Krem hard in the arm as they strolled back out to the field, bags of food in hand.

"Fucking shem..." Skinner kicked him in the rear.

"I'm so glad I've got such nice friends..." grumbled Krem, unaffected by their assault.

"You're lucky you've got any at all with that 'Vint bullshit," said Skinner, her friendly jab hidden beneath the harsh roll of her Orlesian accent. "Though, it's not like your family had it easy, either."

Krem just groaned. "Don't remind me. I can't believe my big stupid mouth..."

"Lucky thing she still likes that big stupid gob," said Dalish, waggling her brows. "How 'bout that wee smooch?"

Krem grinned, brightening considerably. "Yeah..." Color sparked in his cheeks at the memory of her rose petal lips bumping against his chin. His chest shook with a goofy laugh. He couldn't remember the last time a girl had made him feel so giddy and elated. He'd made a complete ass out of himself, and she'd kissed him anyway, giving him a chance not many other people would have. Hell, he'd have punched himself if he were in her position.

His phone buzzed against his thigh. He fished it out of his pocket and slid the screen to unlock it. The number was unfamiliar, and the text was nothing more than a simple heart emoji. Krem's grin spread ear to ear, even before the three little dots popped up that meant the other person was typing.

Unknown number

1:04

its ellana btw :)

After a moment, an image file popped up. Krem jabbed the icon with an eager finger and the file expanded. It was a picture of Sera and Ellana, taken from above, by Sera, judging from the angle. They were laughing and sharing a milkshake, Ellana's bright lipstick staining the straw. The curls of her vallaslin crinkled around her eyes, wispy strands of hair curled against her forehead, and star-shaped earrings glinted in the outdoor lighting.

He saved the picture immediately.

 Dalish peered over his shoulder, humming in interest. "Ooh...What're ye goin' to send back?"

"Dick pics," Skinner said in her flat humor, without missing a beat.

"No. For about twenty different reasons," Krem replied, unoffended by her crass remark. He shoved his phone back into his pocket.

"She sent a heart," Dalish said.

"She wants the dick," added Skinner.

"You sure are obsessed with dicks for a flaming lesbian."

"Sure are mouthy for a Krem puff."

"That didn't even make sense."

"Neither does your face."

Krem groaned in frustration while his friends laughed. Skinner elbowed him in the side with a devious grin. "You know I'm only fucking with you," she said.

"I ought to pummel you." He gave her a playful rib right back.

"Yeah," Skinner slung an arm around his hips and gave him a quick squeeze. "Too bad you love me."

 Krem gave her a look that clearly illustrated just how lucky she was that he did as they reached the field. He left the two women behind, jogging to where the coach was hailing him. When he was gone, Dalish looked down at her shorter girlfriend.

"Well?" she asked, breathy with excitement.

Skinner let a truly evil smirk split her lips, and held up the matte black cellphone she'd stolen from Krem's pocket.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Please comment or message me with any questions, concerns, or constructive critiques. You can scream at my inbox on tumblr at fatale-distraction.tumblr.com


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Krem finally gets to see where Ellana lives! And sees the ABSOLUTE most hipster garbage room on the face of the planet.  
> Preview:  
> "--her hair loose and curling around her shoulders, the strap of that stupid bra sliding down her arm while the sheets churned beneath her, whispering across skin flushed and glistening, violet eyes hooded and misty as she looked up at him with that rosebud of her mouth whispered incoherently, the corners turning up as his breath played over trembling thighs, and that sweet little giggle--"

Professor Pavus was on about some quantum bullshit or another.

Ellana had a hard enough time paying attention in his science classes as it was, between the distraction of that fantastic moustache and the fact that she really wasn't very good at physics at all. She relied heavily on his weekly tutoring sessions, long nights studying, and the impeccable notes of Sera's girlfriend, Dagna to manage a passing grade. But, it was worth it to have the benefit of another set of classes with her favorite teacher, to say nothing of the diversity it added to her transcript. 'Ah, yes,' potential employers would say. 'A useless Liberal Arts degree with a mediocre detour through physics.'

Well, at least she had the bakery. 

She narrowed her eyes at the window a few seats away. The muted grey clouds outside called to her. It was her favorite kind of lighting to shoot in. Shaking her head, she tried to force her attention back onto the theoretical equation Dorian was explaining, his hand moving quickly over the chalkboard as he lectured, the dust whitening his fingers like powdered sugar, while he scanned the heavy open book in his hand through stylish half-moon glasses. Instead, her eyes focused on his forearm, reminding her of another very particular set of muscled arms glistening like amber in the sun. Her mind drifted again, wondering what Krem would look like in a crisp white button up with the sleeves folded up over his elbows...

Her phone buzzed several times in her pocket, and she nearly jumped out of her skin, her desk clattering with her sudden movement. Dorian paused in his writing to fix her with a stern look, and Ellana bent to her notes, hoping to hide the shamed flush in her cheeks. Once he'd returned his attention to the board, she fished her phone out, and made a shrill, quiet noise in the back of her throat. 

Three texts from Cremisius Aclassi.

All image files.

She settled her phone one-handed between her thighs and quickly opened the files while she pretended to copy notes. Sorry Dorian, she thought unapologetically. 

The first was a picture of himself from behind. One hand was running through his hair, and he was talking to a tall man with dark skin and pockmarks. The tight shirt Krem wore clung to his protruding shoulder blade and outlined his spine so perfectly. He was like a sculpture of hammered bronze. 

The second was closer up, a profile in motion. He seemed to be running, hair pulled back from his forehead by wind resistance, dark eyes narrowed in concentration beneath a tight, focused brow. The shot particularly captured the strong, straight line of his nose, the slight hook at the tip.

The final picture was similar to the second, but his head was turned slightly toward the camera, as if he'd just noticed his picture was being taken, eyes widened a bit, his mouth open just slightly, his bottom lip full and tempting.

Another series of pictures can in quick succession.

Krem looking down in surprise with a hand shoved into his pocket.

Krem looking up and shouting angrily.

A dizzying blur of motion that inverted the grass and the sky.

She covered a snort of laughter with her mouth. Three dots appeared, blinking as the texts started rolling in.

OH

MY

GOD

THOSE IDIOTS

IM SORY

YOUE PRBLY IN CLAS RIHT NO

THS PRBY ISNT HLEPINH

IM SRRY

DABLISH AND SKLINER STOL MU PHON

Ellana had to excuse herself, collecting her things quickly and bolting from the classroom, ignoring Dagna's concerned shout and the raised, offended eyebrow of Professor Pavus. Her face was so red it was dangerously nearing purple as she dashed down the hall, holding her breath, her stomach aching, before she finally fell against a corner and burst into hysterical, screaming laughter, tears streaking her flushed cheeks. She sunk to the floor, hugging her sides, head thrown back against the wall. A torrent of texts from Sera popped up on her phone, asking if she was alright, did she need a tampon, was it the runs, did she need some pepto, etc. This only made Ellana laugh harder, feeling perfectly insane, giggling to herself in the middle of an empty hallway. 

"Dablish..." she snorted, rolling onto her side and continuing her episode.

 

Around an hour later, having assured Sera she was fine, and yes she was absolutely positive it wasn't the runs, Ellana ended up wandering around the parking lot, on the end near the field. She wasn't sure where the locker rooms let out, but she recognized Nancy the World's Sexiest Car waiting patiently for her owner a few rows over, and she was certain she couldn't go back to class after all that laughing. So instead, she leaned against the chainlink fence, scuffing the toe of her boot at the ground, nose buried a slim, well worn novel. A brisk autumn wind tugged at her scarf and tore long strands of hair loose from the braided mess of her bun. It nipped at her cheeks, her nose, the pointed tips of her ears that peeked out over the wrap of the scarf. 

Krem spotted her as he was leaving the building, pulling a sporty hooded sweater over his shoulders. She looked like a picture, something she herself might have jumped at the chance to photograph. He smiled and brought his phone up, snapping a quick portrait, wishing he had her skill. 

Ellana looked up at the sound of the shutter and smiled, closing the book around her thumb and waving with it. He couldn't help the grin that spread across his face at the sight, the way she lifted up onto her toes just a bit as she waved her hand over her head. Krem jogged the rest of the distance between them, chuckling under his breath. 

"Hey, um...sorry about...that mess..." he stammered as he approached. "How was class?"

"You'll have to ask Dorian," she grinned. "I had to bail before I busted up in the middle of his lecture."

Krem grimaced apologetically. "I'm sorry...I seem to be saying that a lot today."

"Don't be," Ellana insisted, laying a hand on his arm, just below the elbow. "Now I have all these great shots of you saved on my phone."

"Maker, you saved them?" He ran his fingers through his hair, with a groaning laugh. "Ugh...I'm going to kill them..." Even as he said so, he handed over his phone, with the picture he'd just taken of her opened. She took it, the color in her cheeks rising along with her grin. She scrunched her shoulders up excitedly. "Speaking of which...I haven't got your talent, but...well, you just looked really cute standing there," he babbled. 

Chewing on her lower lip, Ellana passed the phone back. "It's a good shot...what happened to your hand?" she said, noticing a mark on the back of his palm that looked strangely like a set of very sharp teeth marks bruised into the dark skin. "Did...you get bitten?"

"Skinner." He frowned, brows furrowing in irritation. "Had to fight her to get my phone back...that girl doesn't fight fair."

"Fighting fair is for weenies."

"Yeah, that sounds like something she'd say, too..."

Ellana laughed. "When you're short and elfy, you figure out better ways to fight than fair, otherwise you're already at a disadvantage."

Krem frowned again. "Who's fighting you?" He demanded. "I'll kick their ass."

This had her snorting with laughter. "No one! And I can kick my own asses, thank you." She flicked his nose with a playful flourish. 

"'Though she be but little, she is fierce', hmm?"

"You _have_ been studying."

"A bit." He shuffled a little and jerked his head toward the car. "You want to get going, then?"

 

* * *

 

 

Ellana led the way up the creaking back staircase that lead up to the apartment situated above the Herald's Rest. It worried Krem that the entrance to their house appeared to be a shady-looking back alley, and worried him even more that a police car seemed to be camped out in front of the cafe. But once she unlocked the door and stepped aside to let him in while she wrestled the jangling keys out of the lock, a wave of relief washed over him. The door opened into a cheery, well-lit kitchen, with white marble countertops polished sparkling clean, with framed prints of Orlesian city blocks and wine bottles decorating the walls. The kitchen opened into a cozy living room. Squashed between wall-to-wall bookshelves overflowing onto the plush carpet was a modest television set, an antique coffee table with scuffed legs that was also stacked with books, and the most squishy, comfortable-looking couch he'd ever seen, heaped with equally comfy throw pillows and fuzzy blankets, and yes, even more books. Unfamiliar and outlandish knick knacks made their homes on most of the shelves, only a few of them he vaguely recognized as Dalish in origin.

"So, I take it you hate reading."

Ellana laughed as she stripped her jacket and scarf off and kicked her boots into a corner. "It is a bit much, isn't it...?"

"Have you actually read all of them?"

"Most of them...anything I haven't read I'm sure Eve has." She wandered through the minefield of discarded novels and down a hall behind the couch, Krem trailing behind her. The hallway was dim, but he could make out a few family portraits and candids of the sisters framed along the walls at strange intervals. Upon closer inspection, they appeared to be covering splatters of multicolored paint. "Evelyn has a temper," Ellana explained when she saw him looking. "So she paints."

"Ah..."

Ellana opened a door halfway down the hall and stepped aside, introducing her guest to her bedroom. Krem felt immediately at home. The room was all soft, warm colors and wispy curtains, the floor covered in faded woven rugs. The elf flicked the lightswitch, and instead of a bright, white glare from the overhead lighting, it was gentle, dim. Most of the lighting in the room came from a series of mismatched lamps near the bed and on each end of the desk, with veiled shades with fringed bottoms, and picturesque fairy lights woven around the headboard, a large mirror above the desk, and the drapery fixtures. 

"Doesn't this make it hard to see?" he asked, in a comfortable awe. 

"The overhead is a dimmer switch," she explained. "So if I need it brighter to study or something, I can switch it. But I prefer it this way. It's cozy."

"Yeah..." He ran an appreciative hand over the antique rosewood desk, which was an organized mess of paper, pens, and of course books. Poking out from beneath a pile of torn-out notebook paper was a silvery laptop. Stacked on the desk's upper shelf were a collection of half-melted candles in miscellaneous china dishes, an old inkstand that may or may not have still been functional, and a few small, framed photographs. "Yeah, this is definitely the most hipster room I've ever been in."

"Shut up," Ellana laughed, perching on the end of her bed with a bounce. "I'm a barista in a family owned cafe, what exactly were you expecting?"

"I love it," the taller man protested vaguely, admiring a little wooden cabinet with glass doors. Stored inside was a hodgepodge of tiny wooden figures, stone statuettes, bits of jewelry stashed in glass jars and china cups, and a few stuffed toys that seemed out of place, but somehow also fit in perfectly. 

"Good." Ellana retrieved a notebook from a rickety bedside table. "Now, Pavus is really anal about stage presence and proper diction, so let's start there. The right emphasis and enunciation will impress him way more than knowing the publication date of Pygmalion."

Cremisius turned to face her and found  _himself_ faced with a problem: where to sit. There was the desk chair, but it was on the other side of the room from Ellana. Dark eyes fell on an over-stuffed armchair in a corner next to the closet, but he immediately rejected it as a possibility when he spotted a lacy black bra hanging from the carved armrest with careless audacity. He tore his gaze away from the distracting garment, grateful for the dim lighting and hoping it was enough to hide the vibrant red pounding in his cheeks. There was always the floor...but there was also the option of sitting immediately next to Ellana...on the bed. The soft, cozy-looking bed covered in squishy pillows, afghans knitted like tapestries, probably smelling like lilac and vanilla and some sort of exotic, spicy floral he couldn't identify, not that he'd ever leaned a little closer than necessary to catch a whiff of on her hair or anything. 

Watching to make sure his presence was welcome, Krem took a ginger seat on the very corner of the mattress, which sagged under his weight, and--crap! he thought wildly, there's another goddamn bra on the bed, all soft and creamy with ruffles of tulle and lace cascading from the top like some kind of absurd, mocking waterfall of temptation. His treacherous mind immediately strayed, picturing what it would look like against rosy skin...did she have freckles on her shoulders? On her breasts even? Sweet Maker he hoped there were freckles. 

"Cremisius?"

"WHAT?!" He was jerked back to attention by her voice with a guilty jump. "Uh...sorry, I was, er..." His eyes darted to the brassiere, sitting innocently on a pillow and looking inexplicably proud of itself. Krem glared at it. "I was, um, spacing out...a little..."

"I asked if you know what iambic pentameter is," she said, unoffended and patient. 

"I'm a what?"

A giggling snort had her clapping a hand over her nose. Heat pooled in Krem's chest at the sweetness of it, the silly little laugh and her reaction to it. He was more riled up by the innocent motion than he had any right to be, and he blamed the bra entirely, feeling very bitter toward it as it teased him in the peripheral of his vision. He tried to drag his attention back to her. She was reading a definition from the notes in her hand, twiddling a pen between her fingers. He kept picturing her with her hair loose and curling around her shoulders, the strap of that stupid bra sliding down her arm while the sheets churned beneath her, whispering across skin flushed and glistening, violet eyes hooded and misty as she looked up at him with that rosebud of her mouth whispered incoherently, the corners turning up as his breath played over trembling thighs, and that sweet little giggle--

  
"'Although some experts debate whether such works were originally performed with such a prominent rhythm or whether it was simply combined with patterns of speech that were contemporary at the time..." Her eyes skimmed the page as she read, the pen now stuck between her teeth as she reclined against a pile of pillows, stockinged feet curled at her side. Her lips moved over the pen as she spoke. Krem made a small, shrill noise in the back of his throat.

"Are you alright?" she asked, looking up. 

"Yes." 

"Okay, let's practice a couple lines...they flow pretty naturally already, since that's how they were written. It's super easy once you've got the hang of it, but it should give you some Pavus Points..."

"Right." 

She scooted closer so they could read the lines together, her shoulder leaning against his arm. The muscles tightened involuntarily at her proximity. She read off a line as an example from a sonnet or something, probably. He repeated the phrase in a soft, shaky breath, trying to focus on the words and copy her inflection. He pointedly avoided looking at her, or the attractive gape of her shirt.

"Good," she said when he'd finished, glowing with pride. "See? Easy." 

"Yeah."

"Are you sure you're alright? Your face is...really red." Her eyebrows knit with concern. 

"It's, ah...a little warm..." He tugged at the loose collar of his shirt. 

Ellana stood and padded across the room, the notebook sliding off the bed and to the floor with a dry slither. "I'll open a window," she said, giving one a tug. She heaved at it again while Krem tried to collect his wits, taking deep breaths and forcing himself not to admire the stretch in her legs as she leaned her weight uselessly on the window, grumbling under her breath.

"D'you need a hand?" he asked, trying to sound calm. 

She wheezed. "It's stuck!" Her voice was strained as she pulled and pushed. Krem stood and came up behind her just as her fingers slipped off the sill and her back hit his chest. He reached around her, arms on either side of her head and gave the window an experimental yank. It stuck for a moment, but a second tug had it shuddering open with a wooden screech. 

"There..." 

Ellana was staring at his arms, roped with firm muscle, without any attempt at subtlety. Or maybe she didn't realize she was staring. She turned and found herself nose-deep in the broad expanse of his chest. 

"Er...hi," he coughed.

"Hello..." she arched a brow, a little smile forming on her lips. Spicy cologne tickled her nose. The elf tilted her head back to look up at him. He was quite a long way up, compared to her. On the tips of her toes, she reached up, bracing her hands flat across his chest, and brushed her lips against his jaw. Krem turned, leaned his head down and met her, their lips making soft, wet noises as they moved. Then all at once his arms came around her, one hand splayed against the back of her head, fingers tangled in her hair while the other pressed against her lower back. Ellana gripped his shirt in her fists, pulling him down closer with a gentle, insistent tug. The cold night air on her back sent shivers down her spine, but Krem's hand was warm and steady against her. She pressed closer to him, the fingers of one hand skimming up to cup a smooth, amber cheek as her mouth moved against his with an eager pull at his lips. Krem gasped warm against her skin and countered with a soft nip. He felt her shudder against him. Her hips met his with a tempting roll. He let out a harsh breath again, his hands flying to hold her waist still.

He was saved an explanation and any other awkwardness by a shrill whistle outside the window. Their lips parted with a moist noise and Ellana spun and leaned out the window.

"GET IIIIIIIT!" a raspy shriek carried up from the street. Krem peeked over Ellana's shoulder and saw Sera below, grinning and waving with devilish excitement. "I brought Dagna's notes for youuuu!" She waved the pages over her head by way of explanation. "I can come back later if you're busy GETTIN' IT though!"

"Sera, go away!" shouted Ellana. Krem snorted and retreated from the window bashfully while the girls continued to harass each other through the window.

 

The blonde girl had a knowing smirk for him as they passed each other in the living room on his way out. "Later, handsome," she chortled with a snarky salute. Ellana smiled apologetically at him, shoving the other elf into the hall. 

"Sorry, Krem...I'll um...text you later?" she asked, a hopeful lilt to her voice.

"Yeah...can't wait...um..." he shuffled his feet in the doorway, then kissed her decisively on the mouth.

She bit her lip through a grin as he retreated down the stairs, waving as he went.

Behind her, a voice whispered obnoxiously.

"Get iiiiiiittttt..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wish my room was as cute as El's....
> 
> Meanwhile Dorian is bitching to Bull about how Krem's nonsense is ruining his classes.
> 
> Thanks for reading! Please comment or message me with any questions, concerns, or constructive critiques. You can scream at my inbox on Tumblr at fatale-distraction.tumblr.com


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i've completely forgotten what fucking day it's supposed to be so let's just say there's a rugby game tomorrow, yeah?  
> also inconsistent texting formats because I'm a lazy ass ftw

"So, are you gonna bang him?"

"Uh, hi, yeah I don't need to hear this!" Evelyn called from the kitchen, flipping a pancake with a jerk of the pan. 

Sera rolled her eyes, but continued nudging the dreamy-eyed girl on the couch beside her.

"He's so cute..." Ellana sighed, flopping backwards with her legs over her friend's. 

"Cute don't cut it! Never seen you this happy." Sera said with a giddy chuckle.

"She's right," agreed their elder, bringing out a platter stacked with golden pancakes, the edges crispy while the middle remained nice and fluffy. "Even when you were with...well. He never made you smile like _this_."

Ellana's smile faded a bit, her cheek resting against the arm she'd thrown over her head. "Yeah. That was...not a great idea."

"That's one way to put it." Sera scoffed with a dark shake of her head. "Love shouldn't be that complicated. It should be easy. This guy, he's easy. He makes you happy. So GET IIIIIT!"

Evelyn threw a dry pancake at Sera's head. "Stop talking about my sister's sex life in front of me!"

"Come on, El," Sera laughed through a mouthful of pancake. "Is it official, or what?"

"I don't know..." She ran a hand through her hair, brows knitted. "I like him so much...he's so nice and sweet..."

"He tips well," supplied Evelyn, drenching the plate in syrup.

"And those muscles, woof." Sera flexed her own stick-like arms. "Wonder if he'd help me bulk up..."

"Are you worried about that thing he said?" her sister asked, arching a brow. "You said it yourself, people say dumb shit. You've said things about Tevinter that he probably wouldn't be thrilled hearing."

Ellana blushed and looked down, ashamed, but Sera lept to her defense. "Ain't that a bit different? 'Vints haven't exactly be kind to your people."

"They're your people too," Eve levelled her stern, big-sister look at the blonde elf. "Dalish or not, we're all elves, we all share the same history, and the same issues with Tevinter. But..." She took a large, syrupy bite and continued through it. "Just 'cause he's from Tevinter doesn't make him a 'Vint. He's as Ferelden as any of us now, and he clearly knows what's right and wrong. None of us can help how we were socialized to think. All we can do is try to change it, and apologize profusely when we fuck up, and then learn from it. It's a process." She shrugged. "Just like anything else in life. Give the kid another chance. Live and learn. Or some shit."

Ellana snorted. "Thanks for that jewel of wisdom, Sigmund."

"Hey." Evelyn brandished a fork at her sibling. "Shut up. Don't compare me to that weirdo. I'm Jung and you know it."

"I have no idea what you're on about," said Sera with a shake of her head and another mouthful of pancakes. "But Krem's hot, and you need to get on that. Like, now."

"Agreed." Eve and Sera fistbumped while Ellana groaned and pulled a pillow over her face. 

 

* * *

 

 

AclassiGuy: Hey, who's E. E. Cummings?

Lethallavellan: A poet and a playwrite. Dorian hates him. Dunno why. I think he hates everyone who isn't him.

Lethallavellan: Why?

AclassiGuy: Coach keeps calling me E. E. Kremmings.

Lethallavellan: LMAO

Lethallavellan: That's amazing

AclassiGuy: It's so irritating lol

Lethallavellan: He loves you so much!

AclassiGuy: yeah, he does

Lethallavellan: it's cute

Lethallavellan: <3

AclassiGuy: shut up

AclassiGuy: you're cute

Lethallavellan: O:

AclassiGuy: shit

AclassiGuy: this conversation never happened

AclassiGuy: delete immediately

Lethallavellan: lol no way

Lethallavellan: screenshotted

AclassiGuy: No!

Lethallavellan: forwarding to entire school

AclassiGuy: Do Not.

Lethallavellan: forwarding to Ferelden Times

AclassiGuy: do NOT

Lethallavellan: <3

Lethallavellan: lol

Lethallavellan: you're cute too

AclassiGuy: I'm manly as hell

Lethallavellan: still cute tho

AclassiGuy: -Image attachment- Close up shot of his flexed bicep and shoulder. His face is turned toward his arm, half cut-off. His hair seems damp and falls into his eyes, and it looks like he's laying down against black sheets.

AclassiGuy: manly as hell

Lethallavellan: -Image attachment- Same picture, but with sparkly eyes drawn poorly on his bicep

AclassiGuy: are you kidding me

Lethallavellan: lol

Lethallavellan: are you in bed?

AclassiGuy: just relaxing

AclassiGuy: what about you?

Lethallavellan: -Image attachment- Taken from above, she's sticking her tongue out at the camera. Her hair is down and loose across lavender bedsheets, and the deep v-neck of the baggy sweater she wore exposed most of a purple sports bra. A journal and pen can be seen next to her.

AclassiGuy: omg

AclassiGuy: so cute

AclassiGuy: your vallaslin match your sheets

Lethallavellan: i'm surprised you know the word

AclassiGuy: sometimes i know things

AclassiGuy: and sometimes i don't stick my foot in my fat mouth

AclassiGuy: had the whole 'they're not just tattoos' talk w/ Dalish when i first met her

Lethallavellan: lmao bet that was fun to watch 

Lethallavellan: I do have tats tho

AclassiGuy: yeah? what of?

Lethallavellan: ~secret~<3

AclassiGuy: omg

AclassiGuy: something dirty

Lethallavellan: no!!!

AclassiGuy: boyfriend's name?

Lethallavellan: nooooo

Lethallavellan: subtle af btw

AclassiGuy: i try

Lethallavellan: try again

AclassiGuy: unicorn on your ass?

Lethallavellan: no wtf

Lethallavellan: you suck at this lmao

AclassiGuy: guess you'll just have to show me

Lethallavellan: pff sure

AclassiGuy: really?

Lethallavellan: mayyyyyyyyyyybbbbbeeeeeeee...

Lethallavellan: gotta go to bed bye

AclassiGuy: no fair

Lethallavellan: lmao

Lethallavellan: see you tmrrw?

AclassiGuy: yep!

AclassiGuy: can't wait

Lethallavellan: see you then!

AclassiGuy: sweet dreams Ellana

Lethallavellan: you too, Krem

Lethallavellan: <3

 

* * *

 

 

Krem flung his phone across the room with an agonized groan. "She's. So. Fucking. CUTE!" he wailed, rolling to bury his burning face in a pillow.

"I take it I have you to blame for my El's abrupt departure today," Dorian's voice said from the doorway. He leaned against the doorjamb with an air of casual interest. Krem turned his head and glared.

"Revenge," he growled.

"For?"

"Not telling me you knew her!" he flung a pillow Dorian's way, but the teacher caught this missile and tossed it aside easily. 

"How was I supposed to know the little barista you were always on about and my El were one and the same? I only found out when you and Bull rudely interrupted my class. The question is, why didn't you tell me?"

"Didn't know she was a theater kid. Dalish put that one together." The younger man shrugged, still frowning. He hesitated, then sat up and looked up at Dorian with an earnest intensity. "You know her well. You think she'd be okay with..." he gestured at his person with a vague hand.

His expression softened, and he moved into the room to sit next to Krem. Dorian took a deep breath. "Miss Lavellan is my pride and joy...She is the daughter I will never have due to my complete and utter disgust at the mere idea of parenthood." He laid a hand on the shoulder of his fellow Tevene. "But she would absolutely sleep with anyone and anything that looked at her the way you do."

Krem choked on his own spit and Iron Bull burst into bellowing hysterics the next room over. 

"I mean it!" Dorian scowled, shooting a dirty look at the wall that joined their bedrooms. "She's a very sweet, romantic little thing...who I also happen to know won't give a horse's ass what's in someone's pants, so long as they treat her kindly. And you will treat her kindly." His grey eyes narrowed in near threat. 

Krem looked down at his feet, wringing his fingers. "I hurt her feelings today...it was an accident!" He protested as Dorian swatted the back of his head. "The last thing I want to do is hurt her...I just...I want to hold her, and kiss her, and tell her how beautiful she is, and--"

"Fuck her til she squeals?" Bull suggested, poking his horned head into the room. 

"Go away," Dorian said before turning back to Krem. "I believe you, Cremisius. Just...be gentle with her. She's been hurt before. Very badly, and by a dear friend of mine, and I can tell you for certain it was never his intention to do so. But it happened. And he wasn't enough of a man to make it right. My concern is, are you?"

"Yes." Krem responded without hesitation, a determined glint in his eyes. 

"I know you are," Dorian smiled with pride. "I'm very protective of her...but I truly believe you will treat her right."

Krem was beginning to feel uncomfortable under the cobalt intensity of the teacher's stare. He'd never really spent this much time talking with his Coach's boyfriend before, and certainly never sought out his advice. He'd have to change that, he thought to himself. 

"I won't let you down. Either of you," he promised.

 

* * *

 

 

The Iron Bull sighed as his lover curled against his chest late that night, sweaty and exhausted. 

"Well, excuse me!" Dorian said with mock offense. 

"Not you," rumbled the Qunari. "Heard somethin' about Krem's girl today. In the teacher's lounge."

"I'll handle it."

"Didn't know it was that serious."

"No one did! He was a fool for letting it happen at all, much less letting it go as far as it did. He could have ruined both their lives."

Bull sighed again, pinching the bridge of his nose. "How'd anyone even find out?"

"Dean de Fer caught them," Dorian whispered. 

"CAUGHT them?"

"Mmhmm."

"DURING?!"

"In his office, no less. She had to switch her major to keep her enrollment, drop all history classes, and he...well. He's damned lucky is what he is, tenure or no. A relationship between teachers is one thing. Between a student and a teacher?" Dorian shook his head, black hair limp and messy around his face. "Foolish. At her age, that idiot ought to have known better."

"She wasn't--"

"No, no! She was of age. Just...very young." Dorian rubbed the dark circles under his eyes. "Gave him an earful when he told me, but did he listen?"

"Surprised it isn't all over the school. Lotta students had it good for him." 

"The Dean has done an excellent job of keeping it quiet. But apparently some of the faculty don't know the definition of 'keep your goddamned mouths shut.'"

Iron Bull snorted loudly. "Or 'keep your dicks in your pants.'"

 

* * *

 

 

It took Krem nearly five minutes to psyche himself up enough to talk to Ellana the next morning. He spotted her when he pulled up to Herald's Rest, sitting at a table near the window instead of behind the counter. She had on another of her chunky sweaters, tight black jeans and a knitted beret and was reading again. Parked out front, the young man took several deep breaths and coached himself under his breath before he opened the door of his Charger and got out.

She looked up when the bell over the door chimed, and smiled when she saw him. "Morning!" 

He froze. Her hair was down. Like it had been in the picture last night after he'd left her apartment. He stared. It was long, down to her waist, with thick, curling waves, and fiery red. 

"Hey..." he croaked, eyes devouring her, then cleared his throat. "Not working today?"

"Night shift for her tonight." Evelyn was at his elbow with a knowing smile and his usual order held out for him.

He took it, stammering his thanks and fishing for his wallet, but the older woman had already sauntered away behind the counter. Krem looked to Ellana, confusion written on his face.

"On the house," she smirked. "Eve is a woman of little words. Sometimes."

"Right. Um. Thanks."

"School today?"

"N-no...well, practice later. I have to go to the museum...for a report." He shuffled his feet. "D'you...? Like the museum?"

Evelyn groaned loudly behind the counter. Ellana giggled. "Yes, I like the museum."

"You want to maybe come with?" He tried to pull the question off with as much non-chalance as possible. Which was to say, none at all.

Luckily, Ellana didn't appear to mind, her smile broadening until the curling marks around her eyes crinkled. "Sure! Which museum?"

"History."

Her smile fell a bit, but she caught it immediately, chewing on the side of her finger. "Y-yeah...yeah, that's fine. I'll go with you." She stood and collected her things, clutching her own cardboard cup tightly. Ellana waved goodbye to her sister, who was staring after them with an unreadable expression, then slipped her hand into the crook of Krem's arm and let him lead her out the door with a giddy light in his eyes.

"She's going to fuck it up." Cole stated, appearing next to Evelyn without so much as a noise. She shrieked and jumped, then beat at him with a towel. 

"STOP THAT!" she cried, catching her breath with a hand to her breast. Cole seemed entirely unaffected and just stared after his coworker with a concerned look in his blue eyes. "But...yes. Probably."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> imsosorryimsosorryimsosorryimsosorry


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I.......am so sorry.

The Ferelden Museum of Natural History was enormous. Four stories of exhibits, with an interior walkway surrounding an open air courtyard which housed an actual-sized replica of a High Dragon skeleton, posed to seem as though it were climbing up to burst through the roof. The real version of the skeleton was housed in an Orlesian museum and was too fragile to be displayed in its full glory. 

Krem watch Ellana leaning over the glass barrier at a precarious angle to peer down the mountainous ridge of the dragon's spine, her long red hair tumbling over one shoulder. Black jeans hugged the generous swell of her hips quite nicely, and Krem bit his lip hard to keep from making a low noise of approval when she lifted onto her toes to get an even better look at the dragon. A glance over her shoulder, and she caught him staring, leaning against a wall between the exhibit doors, grinning with his bottom lip caught between his teeth. 

"What?"

"Nothing."

"You're smiling."

"I'm not."

"You are!"

"You're cute." His grin widened as she quickly turned back to the skeleton hiding a giggling blush while her hair spun around her. Pushing off the wall with a shoulder shoulder, Krem came up beside her, and rested his folded arms on the railing, close enough that their shoulders touched. "Which exhibit d'you want to explore next?" He pitched his voice purposely low, coaxing a nice, subtle rumble out of his chest. Bull had taught him that. 

Ellana tilted her head toward him, eyes still taking in the carefully molded bones while she chewed on the side of her mouth. Her cheeks still sported a rather lovely dusty rose. He adored how quick she was to blush, to smile, to laugh; how willing and eager she was to throw the idea of personal space out the window, her fingers constantly gliding over his arm, his hand or his back to catch his attention. Even now, she had let her weight rest against him while she pondered, tugging her hair behind one ear. His eyes raked over the curve of her neck, dusted by a webbing of downy baby-hairs. He could smell that sweet, fragrant lilac on her without even needing to lean closer, though he did so anyway.

"There's one on extinct creatures downstairs?" she suggested at length. 

"Okay. I think that's on the same level as the exhibit on Arlathan, if...maybe you wanted to check that out too?" He tried. Maybe too hard, but he tried.

"No," she shut the idea down with quick emphasis.

"Oh..." Krem couldn't help but feel a bit crestfallen, but he shrugged it off with a self-depricating laugh. "Right, maybe not the best idea with my dumb mouth--"

"It's not that!" Ellana grabbed his hand and held it tight between both of hers, staring up at him with an undecipherable look of desperation in her eyes. "Really, its...its not that. At all. Just...I have my reasons, okay?"

"Okay." He said it with a gentle squeeze of her hands. "Okay. It's okay. We don't have to talk about it."

This time, he leaned down for her so she could properly kiss his cheek. She had a grateful smile for him when he pulled back, and he couldn't help himself; he ducked back down and pressed a firm, luscious kiss against her lips, one hand tangling in the hair at the base of her neck. He could feel her smiling against him and it sent butterflies flitting through his belly. She cupped his cheek and tilted her head, plucking daintily at his lips with her own.

"You're going to drive me mad," he whispered to her, nose to nose, both grinning like fools. 

They head down the stairs, holding hands with their fingers twined together. They'd only just kissed for the first time last night, but already he felt more comfortable asking for more. Not out loud of course, he wasn't quite there yet; but with the silent nudge of his nose while they sat with their heads together in the dark room of an astrology exhibit, a stealthy arm around her waist that brought her to his side, a gentle touch under her chin. Her methods were less subtle. It had taken him a few times to catch on, but he finally figured out that she had a tendency to just bounce on the balls of her feet until he took notice of her. Once he realized her inane bouncing meant "kiss, now," he was more than happy to comply. All together, he felt their impromptu date had gone quite well so far.

Until they were walking out of the exhibit on extinction, anyway.

He had his arm around her waist, loving the feel of her hips swaying just slightly as she walked, bumping his every once in a while. He'd been about to ask her about lunch when a voice behind them had her frozen to the spot so abruptly, he nearly walked on without her.

"Miss Lavellan?" The voice was male, rich and cultured, with a tremor of shock to it. Krem half-turned and saw a tall, pale man with expensive-looking slacks, matte leather shoes, and an open blazer revealing a rather stylish scarf draped beneath the collar of his shirt. He looked familiar, like someone he'd seen around school once a while back.

Ellana turned slowly to face him, her face devoid of color, eyes wide with panic. If anyone had ever looked like a deer in the headlights, Krem was certain it was her. "Hahr--Professor," she squeaked.

The man swallowed visibly. Sharp, icy grey eyes narrowed at the hand still around her waist, a hand which tightened protectively at the look. "You are looking well," he said, eyes drifting back to hers. His voice was steady, but he looked inexplicably sorrowful. Maybe it was just his face. There was something around the eyes, something terribly painful.

"So do you..." she nodded. "Are...are you enjoying your new position?"

He shifted with an awkward set to his shoulders. "Ah...yes. I am. The Dean was very generous with my transfer. She ensured I would have an exhibit hall to curate as I saw fit, as well as a weekly lecture."

"That sounds nice."

"It is."

There was a ringing silence. Krem could feel Ellana trembling, and pulled her closer. The professor's keen eyes did not miss this.

"You haven't introduced me to your friend," he smiled, though it was strained, and held out a large, long-fingered hand.

Krem shook it with a grip that Bull would've been proud of, eyes hardened. "Cremisius Aclassi," he said with a tight grimace that had no business being likened to a smile. "El's helping me with some homework."

"Is that so?" He seemed unfazed by the crushing handshake, or by the bristling, crisp tone. "Well, you won't find a better tutor. Ellana has a particular gift for history."

"Had." As soon as she'd said it, she buttoned her lip right back up. 

Another agonizing silence stretched between them. "Yes, I suppose so..." the man murmured, lips barely moving. "Well. I should be going...I have a lecture to prepare for...Miss Lavellan," he inclined his head to her slightly, his voice brisk. "Take care of yourself. Mister Aclassi." For Krem he had a curt nod before he turned and headed the opposite direction. His gait was measured, but the slope of his shoulders said he couldn't wait to be away.

Krem was still glaring after him when she collapsed with a strangled sob. He was on his knees beside her in a moment. "W-wh--Ellana? What's wrong? N-noooooo, no no no no no no no, please don't--please don't cry...El, please I don't know what to do when girls cry..." His babbled protested went unheeded. He let her cling to the front of his shirt, burying her face in his chest with her shoulders shaking and damp, quavering sobs squeaking out of her. He slid his arms around her and held her as tight as he could, murmuring nonsense into her pointed little ear and stroking her hair. Passersby stared, and a few glared at him, but he ignored them. "El, please..." he whispered. "D'you want me to go hit him? I'll do it, I'll find his bald-headed ass--"

"Noooo," she wailed. She scrubbed hard at her eyes with the back of her hands and rubbed her sleeve under her nose with a tearful sniff. "No, please stay..." Her nose and her cheeks and her eyes were all red and puffy. She tried to swallow, but it caught on a hiccuping little sob. "Please..."

"I'm not going anywhere," he promised. He stood and helped her up by the elbows. "Come on, let's get you cleaned up and get you a drink, yeah?" 

Fearless, he barged right into the women's restroom with her and leaned against the sink, arms crossed over his chest like a bouncer while she splashed hot water on her face and scrubbed away mucus and tears with a wet towel, salvaging what remained of her eyeliner with little dabs. No one said a word to him. The look on his face and the distressed little elf next to him were enough to deter even the nosiest of obnoxious old women. 

"Feel better?" he asked with a gentle hand rubbing the small of her back when she'd finished.

She nodded quietly, tugging at the neck of her sweater while staring at her boots in embarrassment. "Thanks..."

Krem steered her out of the bathroom and down to the first floor where the food court was located. He bought her the biggest sized soft drink he could find and brought it over to her, stashed away at a corner table by the window. She slurped miserably, dwarfed by the unreasonably enormous soda, then heaved an improbably big sigh.

"So...you're probably wondering what the fuck that was all about."

"A bit."

The girl swung her feet under the table, picking anxiously at a nail. "Okay...so..." She sighed. "This is really hard..."

"Let's go somewhere else," he stood up and held a hand out to her.

"But the museum...?"

"Will be here next week." He smiled and helped her to stand. "In the meantime, Nancy's backseat is a nice, cozy place to have a really awkward conversation."

 

* * *

 

 

The table rocked with a violent bang against the wall, framed certificates and diplomas clattering in rhythm against darkly painted drywall. The lights were all off, but the overhead lamp swung wildly with each strike. Outside, the halls were darkened and empty. Vibrant, soft red hair pooled beneath her, fingers with chipped purple nail polish dug into the once-pristine ocean of papers now spread across the desk. One page was crushed in a white-knuckled fist, another trapped and torn under her foot where it was braced up on the edge. A few stapled papers slid to the floor with a dry rustle, a pen rolled and fell off the side with a plastic clatter. The feet of the desk scrapped across the tiled floor.

"Oh, hahren!" Ellana cried, face contorted in an agony of pleasure. "Oh, hahren, harder!  _Please!"_

Solas groaned, face pressed against her neck, gasping and snapping at the pale pulse of her throat. His wild thrusts picked up along with his panting breath. One hand, with long, slim fingers, fondled her breast, the buttons on her blouse snapped off and her bra yanked down to let the creamy white mounds spill out naked to the night. The other hand held her skirt up out of the way, bunched under his hand as he pinned her hip to the desk with a bruising firmness while he rutted into her with a hungry growl. 

She threw an arm around his back, nails raking across the broad expanse, twisting his blazer in her fist. Her moans and wails filled the dark office, joining the wet, fleshy slap of his thighs against her ass and the wooden rattling of the heavy desk. It was late, he thought. Not even the janitors stayed until this hour, not on the last day of the semester. Let her scream if she wanted. Let her beg and cry as much as she pleased, and she so did love to be noisy for him. He adored the sound of her coming undone under his attentions, loved the way her throat strained to draw air into her lungs as she got close, the way her beautiful eyes like amethyst stars squeezed shut as her breathing reached it's peak, the tight, hot, wetness of her cunt grasping at him, pulling him deep inside, wetter, hotter, tighter, gods he craved her, beautiful, perfect, flesh all dewy and pliant and pink, as soft as the petals of a rose. 

"Oh fuck....Solas..." She shuddered, clawing at his back, at the desk beneath her, knees pressing tight under his arms. Paper tore, fluttered to the ground. One of her feet slipped off the edge of the desk and he caught her by the thigh, hiking her knee up over his shoulder. This new angle had her writhing, voice little more than a hoarse whine as he jerked up into her, grunting as he drove harder and harder against her. A whole cup of pencils tottered off the desk, the mug shattering. "Ah-ah-ah! Ohhhhh, fuck, Professor!" she sobbed. Drops of moisture dripped to the floor, splashed against his leather shoes, sprinkled the leg of his trousers. Breath hitched, she continued to wail, grinding her hips against his. "Oh, Professor, yes! Please, please let me come again, please--"

He was already close himself. So close, nearly... "Ah!" he exhaled sharply against her neck.

As his seed filled her, cock throbbing and twitching with his release, the door swung open.

Solas felt his blood freeze over, too late, far too late, he clapped a rough hand over her gaping mouth, still sobbing with ecstasy. His heart plummeted sickeningly, even as his hips continued to buck without his permission, his semen oozing out around his softening penis and splattering the floor.

"Professor," a richly cultured, prim voice said in a command that was dangerous for all it's softness. "Kindly remove yourself from that student at once."

Madame de Fer was terrifying on a good day. Always fair, even kind when it suited her, but with a rigidity in her spine that brokered no disobedience, no deviation from policy, where there was policy, and her own sensibilities where there was not. She wore an impeccably tailored pantsuit with collars pressed as tight and sharp as her tongue, make up applied to perfection, cheekbones you could cut a diamond on. Beautiful and terrifying, and currently barely concealing real, true fury.

Sparing them both as much dignity as possible, Solas complied, hurriedly stuffing himself back into his pants with shaking hands and straightening his clothes, being sure to block the rather lurid view of Ellana with her knees in the air, feet braced against the edge of the table. The girl was still frozen, eyes wide and tearful with horror, pupils still blown out from the high of sex. Her breasts still hung free, a lacy thong dangling from one ankle. Shamed colored the professor's pale face and he cursed inwardly. He knew how it looked. 

"Cover yourself, vhenan," he hissed through a tight jaw.

"Madame, please..." she started, as though she hadn't even heard him. Her voice quavered with tears that dropped from her lashes like stones. "Please, this is my fault, I'm the one wh-who..."

"You, my dear, are a student." The Dean leveled a dark-eyed look at her, ignoring her exposed breasts and the way she tugged her skirt down to cover her still-dripping cunt. "Our dear professor is in a position to exert power over you, as his student. The power to say 'no' for instance." 

Solas winced visibly. De Fer's scrutiny burned his skin. 

"Clean yourselves up. Then come straight to my office. We will need to determine what shall be done about this...unfortunate situation..." There was a strange pity mingled with raw disgust as she gave them both one last look and headed for her office. 

 

* * *

 

 

Ellana fiddled with the edge of her sweater, unable to meet Krem's eyes. The back of the Charger was cool and dark and comfortable and smelled like citrus and spice. She sat a seat away from him, with her head leaned against the window.

"...fuck..." Krem raked a hand through his hair for the thousandth time. 

"She said...she said no matter what we did, every single history credit would now be under question. He was the head of the whole department, so even the classes I took with different teachers would be thrown out. I'd have to change majors. And...if he wanted to keep his job...if he was serious about me, she said she'd cover it up if he married me immediately. If not...he'd be transferred away." She sniffed and scrubbed a wet cheek with her sleeve.

"And...he said no. Shit..." 

Wrapping her arms around her knees, Ellana looked so small and fragile, teary-eyed and shaking. "I really, _really_ thought he would say yes," she choked. "This was, what, six years ago? I wasn't even old enough to drink yet, and he was almost twice my age...I--i just showed up  and told him I loved him! Just like that! Just knocked on his door one night and told him...He just stood there...then invited me in, and...I thought..." A rueful laugh brought on more tears. "I-I thought he loved me, too. I really, really thought he did.  I was so stupid--so  _stupid_ _!_ I'm so _stupid..."_ She beat at her forehead with the heel of her palm and Krem caught her wrist, tight but gentle, pulling her closer.

"No you're not!" he insisted with a fierce hiss. His arms came around her and he buried his face into the soft hair falling over her shoulder, pressing his mouth close to her ear. "You're not! You're amazing and beautiful and sweet, and so goddamn kind, and he was a fool for abandoning you like that! And cruel! What kind of bastard--..." He bit down hard on his lip. Chestnut fingers combed through her hair, stroking and soothing her with murmured words. She relaxed into him immediately, as though his every touch dragged away her stress and left behind nothing but relief. 

"You're the one who's amazing, Cremisius..." she murmured, nestling closer. She let her eyes drift shut, fingers tangled in the front of his shirt. "You're...safe. And warm. You're like coming home."

His heart clenched, hard, took his breath away. "El..." he whispered. The muscles in his neck worked to swallow. "Do...do you still have feelings for him?" 

He could have whooped for joy when she shook her head softly against him. "No...I was just...scared. Scared of...well, of exactly what happened. Losing it like that...I never wanted you to see me like that, and I psyched myself up so much I ended up doing it anyway...I--I don't know anymore..."

She was silenced when he cradled her closer, pressing a long, long kiss to her cheek. "You never need to worry about freaking out in front of me," he chuckled. "I'll handle it. I'll...I'll take care of you," he promised. 

She looked up at him, smiling from beneath dark lashes sprinkled with tears and he was lost. His hands fisted in her hair and he lowered his face to hers, trembling, until their noses touched. 

"I want to kiss you so badly right now..." he breathed.

Her soft hands cupped his cheek, her neck arched as she tilted her head to the side and let her eyes drift shut. Their lips touched, gentle, searching. Hers quivered, but Krem covered them with gentle, suckling kisses until they stilled and parted for him. Their tongues joined slick and hot, twining together with tentative longing. A light gasp fluttered between them and then her arms circled his neck. 

"Ellana..." Krem breathed, trying not to moan out loud. One hand dropped from the tangle of her hair to cradle her waist, easing her into his lap with the slightest of pressure against her back. His tongue delved into her mouth again. She twisted, shifted her legs to straddle him, thighs hugging his and he held back another groan.

"You're so sweet..." he murmured, voice thick and heavy against her lips. Both hands circled her waist now, bunching into the comfy knit of her sweater. "You taste so sweet...shit, fuck forget I said that--"

She laughed and cut off his words, kissing him again with her hands on either side of his face before circling him again, pulling herself flush against him. "You taste sweet, too..." she murmured.

"Fuck." His hips angled themselves up without asking his permission, head thrown back. He joined their hungry lips again. "Ellana...w-would you--"

"Yes."

"I--I haven't even asked--"

"Yes."

He laughed through his question. "Would...would you go out with me?"

"YES." She grinned, rubbing their noses together. Her fingers tangled in his hair, and his in hers as he dragged her back down for more, a firm hand at her back urging her forward. She moved to kiss at his jaw and Krem caught her off guard with a tight nip at the lobe of one pointed ear. She gasped, pressing more kisses down his jawline. "Cremisius..." she breathed. "Oh, Krem...ah...!"

 

* * *

 

 

"So what you're telling me is..." Bull glared across the dining table at his young roommate. "You  _didn't_ bang her?"

"For fuck's sake..." Krem buried his face in his hands. 

"Damnit, Krem!"

"I'm not about to...do THAT with her right after she's finished CRYING--"

"Oh, but you'll make out with her in the backseat of your car?" Dorian quipped from where he was reclining on the sofa, fiddling with his phone. 

Krem faltered. "Th-that's...I--you know what--"

"Well, I don't think she minded much." Dorian held his phone up and pressed the volume toggle on the side. 

A message played, approximately ten seconds straight of shrill, happy screaming followed by Ellana's voice yelling "CALL ME!!!!" and what sounded like the phone dropping.

Krem grinned into his palm, elbow propped up on the table. 

Bull harrumphed. "You'd think she'd stop forming personal relationships with her teachers..."

"Lucky for her I'm not interested. Although--"

"NO," Krem bellowed. 

Pavus rolled his eyes behind his glasses. "I was  _joking._ Yes, hello, I'm extremely gay for your coach. Ellana's all yours." He winked a pretty grey eye at Bull and Krem groaned.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SORRY SOLAS I'M SO SORRYYYYYYYYY


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -sings- I am on a roooolllllll with these chapters!  
> This one is basically pure fluff with a little bit of sexy, but still no smut! (Yet)

It was unseasonably bright outside, and for once almost warm. Dorian sipped with an elegant, leisurely flair, a newspaper open in his lap in front of a posh cafe near his fashionable apartment. His companion had been silent for some time; not the easy, comfortable silence between old friends, but a silence that spoke louder than words, deafening in his reluctance to broach the topic he most desperately wanted to discuss. Dorian had no intention of making it easy for him, either. Instead, he stretched with a languid groan and admired his own reflection in the storefront window.

Solas set his mug on the iron filigree table. “How is she?”

“You know I can’t answer that,” the Tevene chided. “Dear Vivienne would have my head, and you know that’s one of my favorite parts! It has my beautiful face _and_ my beautiful brain.”

The bare-headed elf raised and irritated eyebrow at him and narrowed his eyes. “I’m being serious.” 

“I never joke about my face.”

Solas contemplated flinging his coffee in that face, fiddling with the handle of the mug with long fingers. “I only want to know that I haven’t _completely_ ruined her life,” he mused.

His friend snorted. “You ought to have thought of that before carrying on with her for nearly a year.”

He buried his face in his hands, elbows propped up on the table. “It was a year and three months…” groaned Solas, pink to the pointed tips of his ears.

Unhelpful as always, Dorian sputtered around a laugh, slapping his hand against a newspaper-covered thigh. “Maker preserve me, you poor stupid fool!”

Solas glared between his fingers.

“Well,” the dark-haired man coughed into a many-ringed hand. “I suppose you were bound to be found out eventually. I’m only surprised you turned down Vivienne’s offer. You never did tell me why. You loved teaching more than anything, and it seems to me a sweet little wife like that on your arm would only be a bonus.”

“‘Yes, the benefits of my career are quite satisfactory. Full health, dental and vision, tenure, and even a pretty little trophy wife!’”

“You know I didn’t mean it like that.” Cloudy grey eyes reprimanded him from across the table. “You cared for her. You still care for her. Why refuse?”

Solas shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I couldn’t--couldn’t do that to her. An intelligent woman like that, and half my age? She’d have tired of an old man like me all too soon and been more unhappy than she would have been otherwise. A break-up is a temporary pain. A marriage? Possibly divorce?” He shook his head again. “She deserved better than me. I had to give her that chance.”

Dorian snorted again, tracing a finger around the lip of his cup. “An act of charity, is it? You really are a fool.”

“Please, Dorian,” Solas beseeched. “All I want to know is...is she happy? Is she doing well in her studies? Does that...that rugby boy treat her well?”

There was another long silence, only enunciated by the wind stirring the leaves across the pavement with a dry scuttle. Dorian eyed his friend long and hard, jaw tight. At last, he closed his eyes and sighed.

“I believe she is. She’s nearly done with her degree; Visual Arts. She’s very talented. And I know for certain that Cremisius treats her well, better than I had even expected, and I had high hopes for him in the first place. Yes. I think she’s quite happy.”

  
A breath of relief slipped from between pale lips. Cupping his coffee mug, Solas smiled down into it with melancholy eyes. “Thank you. I’m glad.”

 

* * *

 

 

Krem was having trouble focusing on his classes. It wasn’t just Ellana seated next to him during drama, comfortably nestled under his arm, or the way her hair was always falling out of her bun in soft, wispy strands that framed her freckled cheeks and dusted the back of her neck, or the dramatic, unsettlingly thorough vomit impressions Sera performed every time she saw them.

Tomorrow was the first big rugby game of the season. He’d put on a considerable amount of muscle since last year, improved his speed and agility, as well as having built up quite an impressive endurance for accidentally ingesting massive amounts of mud and grass. He’d never felt more ready or eager to knock some heads together for real, instead of just in practice. Plus, a few good bruises would ensure plenty of sympathy kisses from Ellana.

He skidded into the theater, sweat beading on his forehead. He nearly tripped over Sera, who appeared to be choreographing a rather complicated tumbling routine on the tile floor.  “HA!” He exclaimed, seeing that Professor Pavus wasn’t there yet. “Not late!”

“Late,” Ellana disagreed, pointing at the clock above the stage. “Pavus just isn’t here yet. He had a business lunch that ran late.”

“Damnit…” Krem sagged into the seat next to her, leaning his head against her shoulder. “I tried,” he pouted at her and she gave him a sympathetic kiss on the forehead.

“I’m sure you did.”

Sera was doing her vomiting bit again. “You two are DISGUSTIIIIING,” she said, sticking her tongue out. “Even my Widdle and I aren’t this gross and cutesy.”

“You call your girlfriend ‘your Widdle’,” pointed out Krem. “Enough said.”

“Yeah but I’m not climbin’ her like a tree every chance I get. Well, ‘cause she’s all dwarfy, so I guess she’d need to climb me…” The blonde elf cradled her elbow in one hand, chewing on a nail while she considered the logistics of proverbial tree-climbing. “Anyway. I keep worryin’ I’m going to walk in on you two boning on a table or something.”

Krem choked and started coughing while Ellana shot straight up in her seat, face ablaze. “SERA!” she shrieked in embarrassment.

He was rather proud of how much Ellana had allowed him to get away with, though they certainly hadn’t been desecrating any dining tables. They’d been ‘officially’ dating less than a week when he’d worked up the courage to go in for a butt-squeeze independent of sneaky little cops while kissing. They were watching a movie in her living room, joined by Evelyn and Cullen, who had seemed as bewildered to be there as Ellana had been to see him sitting awkwardly on the couch. Her sister had turned the lights out and plopped down next to the officer to watch the movie, while Ellana had cuddled up with her feet tucked beneath her, head resting on Krem’s chest. It made him a bit nervous when she did that, worried that she’d feel his binder beneath his shirt and wonder about it. But she never mentioned it, and seemed to enjoy snuggling up to his chest, so he was content to let her.  
  
Krem had stroked absent fingers through her hair, letting his hand fall to rub her shoulder, trail lightly down her arm to mold his palm to the curve of her waist, exaggerated by her reclined position. He’d felt her smile of amusement as he smoothed over the full swell of her hip. Grinning with his bottom lip between his teeth, he’d checked to make sure Evelyn was sufficiently focused on the movie, then dipped his hand lower, fingers pressing small indents into pliant flesh while Ellana wiggled and tried to cover up quiet laughter. It was only after his hand had returned to rest on her waist that he caught the warning scowl Cullen was sending his way from across the room.

"There will be no boning, on tables or otherwise," the cultured voice of their professor called as he sailed down the middle aisle, briefcase in hand. "Sera find your seat, please."

Grumbling, the blonde plopped down on the other side of Ellana, draping her arm across her shoulders, on top of Krem's. 

"Your late, Pavus," teased the younger man. 

Dorian fixed him with a cobalt gaze as he tossed the briefcase under his corner desk. "Yes, but so were you."

"You don't know that!"

The teacher tutted at him. "What would your dear Coach say? I think I shall tell him."

"Before or after you violate the sanctity of my table?"

With a long-legged stride, Dorian approached his student/roommate and leaned over him, bracing his hands on Krem's armrests. "During," he hissed. 

"UGH."

Sera shrieked with laughter.

 

* * *

 

 

Krem adored Ellana's room. Always dark and cozy, lit by candles and smelling like incense. Her pillows smelled like her soap and her perfume, and there was always some kind of interesting new frilly underwear strewn carelessly about. She had a record player, but not many vinyls, so Krem had brought some of his favorites over. The best part was the privacy. When her sister wasn't working, she was in her room with the door closed or in her studio painting with loud music playing, and even when she wasn't busy she seemed to understand the concept of knocking on doors before entering, unlike a certain Qunari he could think of. 

While Ellana busied herself putting Norwegian Wood on the turn table, Krem's nimble fingers scooped up a particularly lacy scrap from the floor. Sprawled across her bed, he rolled onto his back and held it up, trying to figure out how it worked. 

"This is cute...oooooh, is  _that_ how it goes--?" 

She was across the room in seconds, snatching the overly-ruffled thong from his grasp and hurling it into the closet. He laughed when she pounced on him, the record turning merrily away while her lips found his, no longer shy, but sweetly demanding. Krem's hands were under her blouse, skimming across her back but no further. Her tongue was doing marvelous things in his mouth and he hummed deep appreciation through the wet noises their lips made together. The Beatles had nothing on the kind of music he could coax out of her, dragging his nails down her spine with a thigh between her legs. Those were sounds he could listen to all day, the sweet, soft little sighs and half-restrained moans, a light hiss through her teeth followed by a breathy gasp.

A knock on the bedroom door had her tumbling off Krem, off the bed, and noisily onto the floor. She shot to her feet, grumbling and ripped the door open.

"Wh--Cullen? What...why???" she stammered. Krem looked up and hurriedly rearranged himself into a respectful sitting position on the edge of the bed. That blond police officer was in the apartment again, this time, oddly shirtless, a fine dusting of wiry golden hair sketching a picturesque trail from where it spread across impressive pectorals, down a thick but well-muscled stomach, and below the belt of faded blue jeans.

"Um..." he looked as uncomfortable as Ellana did. "Your sister said you could tell me where to find a...a book she...recommended?"

"Did she say where you could find a shirt?" she replied with a bright smile, shooting Krem an apologetic glance before leading Cullen into the library-like living room. She was gone a few moments before Cullen skirted by the open door, book in hand. The two men shot each other narrow-eyed glances before he was off again down the hallway, Evelyn's door clicking shut to the sound of her hysterical laughter. Ellana stormed back into the room and slammed the door shut. "Bragging," she said by way of explanation. "'Look at my new boy toy's pecks, Ellana!' Honestly..."

"Are they...seeing each other?" Krem faltered.

"Seeing _something_ I'm sure..." she grumbled. "She's been crushing on him for a while, but I never thought she'd actually have the balls to invite him up here." The girl shrugged, hopping back onto the bed. "Now, where were we?" Ellana pulled him back down to her, wrapping her arms around his neck and twining their legs together.

Krem broke the kiss after only a moment. "You thought he was hot," he complained.

"Are you being jealous right now?" she arched an incredulous brow. "Over my weird sister's weird cop boyfriend?" Ellana ran a gentle hand up Krem's chest, slowly until she reached his shoulder, then back down again. "Krem, you're a rugby champ. I'm sure you're just as ripped, and you're certainly more to my taste than Commander Beefcake over there."

He snorted. "Sorry...Just. I'm...not super confident about..."

She silenced him with a finger to his lips, the intimate motion shooting heat through his middle, and he moaned lightly against the slim digit. "You're amazing, Krem," she informed him in a hush. Her hand slipped behind his neck and pulled him back to her. "You're the only guy I'm interested in."

His eyes drifted shut as they kissed, hands exploring her, running through her hair and down the smooth curve of her hip, up under her shirt which had somehow become unbuttoned. Dark eyes flew back open and he gaped. She was biting her lips to hide a giggle, pink tinting her cheeks. She'd undone her blouse with one hand while they kissed. Krem could have fist pumped.  _Freckles._ Everywhere, freckles! Little brown flecks covered the tops of smooth, round breasts cradled in a frilly white bra. A little pink ribbon was nestled between the cups, which pushed the two soft mounds together just shy of proper cleavage. He ran his hands over them, fingers shaking a bit, and Maker they were so soft, and sweet Andraste the little gasp she made when amber fingers squeezed just slightly as his palms covered her. Krem dipped to her throat, kissing his way down between them while she writhed and dug her nails into his hair. He rained kisses over each bosom, adoring the way the flesh sank just slightly under the pressure of his lips, reveling in the little mewls that escaped her throat when he squeezed, more firm this time, and dragged his nails over the lace cups with a dry scratching sound. Cupping her head, he came back up to her neck, nipping and biting, tongue lashing out at her earlobe. Ellana clapped a hand over her mouth when his teeth worried up to the point of her ear and back down, burying a squealing moan in her palm. 

"Motherfuck--" Krem gasped at the tantalizing noise, his hips jerking against hers. His breath was hot on her throat until she dragged him back to her lips, clutching him tightly with one leg thrown over his hip. He gasped again, more loudly, again her mouth, hands buried in her hair. "Oh fuck...Ellana..." Her nails dragged down his chest. "Ellana..." Peeked under the hem of his t-shirt, playing along tight abs. "Shit, El...Ah..." Fingers hooked into the front of his pants, brushing against a line of dark hair, and pulled. 

Krem yelped and tumbled off the bed. Ellana shot up, face bright red, her mouth open in surprise. "Krem!" She exclaimed. "Are you okay?"

"Ow."

She was kneeling next to him, pulling on his elbow to help him sit up. "Are you alright?" she demanded again.

"Um. Yes...? I..." he sighed. "I should probably get home." His words were soft, and he held her hands tight in his. Krem looked up and found her brow furrowed in concern, perhaps a bit of hurt in her eyes. He pulled her in for another long kiss, holding her close and tender. "I'll see you at the game tomorrow, okay?" 

Their noses were pressed together as she pouted down at him. "You'll win for me, right?"

He laughed. "Of course. I can't lose when my girl's there cheering me on."

Ellana smiled, came back for another kiss, then helped him to his feet and saw him to the door. "Drive safely," she called to him as he descended the stairs. Once she saw the sleek black Charger drive away, she slipped back inside and leaned against the closed door. She looked up when she heard her name, and saw Evelyn looking at her oddly, flanked by Cullen, who seemed to have found his shirt. "He called me his girl." She giggled and sank down to the floor, back pressed against the door. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to redeem Solas a little bit. I couldn't do him like that, even if he is an egg.  
> Next chapter: THE RUGBY GAME!!!  
> I'm going to warn you now, about it...It's probably going to make everyone hate me. But it's gonna get written. It's not going to be pretty, and it's not going to be fun, but damnit, it's going to happen.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> THIS IS NOT A FUN CHAPTER.  
> IT IS NOT FUN AT ALL.  
> I try to approach every character I write with the respect and love they deserve, even when I'm writing them into an emotionally difficult scene. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE if you have any kind of comments or concerns about this chapter PLEASE message me directly, either here or at fatale-distraction.tumblr.com/ask  
> Trigger warnings for this chapter are as follows:  
> -rugby related violence  
> -hate speech  
> -hate crime  
> -Krem punching the absolute fuck out of someone  
> -Ellana ensuring someone else will never reproduce via kicking the absolute fuck out of their balls  
> -The Other F-word  
> -Other misc slurs  
> -Krem being wonderful and majestic  
> -School Nurse Anders in purple scrubs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know anything about rugby.  
> I don't know anything about how sports work in general  
> Or colleges.  
> Or life.

“I’ll be right up front, cheering my hardest!” Ellana promised, clinging to the front of Krem’s shirt over the counter. The game was only a few hours away, and he’d stopped by the cafe for a coffee and some good-luck smooches. “Eve is leaving Cole to watch the shop, and we’re both going to be there to support the Chargers.”

He laughed a bit awkwardly. “S-she doesn’t have to...but I appreciate it.”

Ellana slid back down behind the counter with a happy bounce. “Of course she does! Evie loves you, doesn’t she, Evie?” 

The woman in question popped her head up over the partition leading to the kitchen. “Sure,” she said with a noncommittal shrug, but moments later, Cole appeared at Krem’s side with rather unsettling abruptness and handed him a flat white coffee, sans sugar.

“On the house…” he mumbled, looking toward the kitchen for reassurance. Evelyn’s arm stretched up to show a thumbs up, and Cole nodded.

“Um. Thanks? Thanks, Eve!” He called. Ellana was beaming at him. Krem leaned down for another kiss. “Well...I should get to the college. Gotta warm up. But first…” He shrugged out of the deep-red and black letterman jacket he wore. “This is...really stupid and cliche, I know. But, I always wanted to give my jacket to a cute girl, so…?” He held the jacket out for her.

Ellana’s hands were over her mouth, eyes big and watery. The sudden sound of quite a bit of clayware shattering caught his attention and he saw Evelyn peaking over the partition again, eyes wide, practically vibrating with excitement. He turned his gaze back to Ellana and helped her into the jacket. It was enormous on her, but she hugged it gleefully around herself, burying her nose in it with a shameless inhale.

“I love it!” she exclaimed, jumping up to hug him, dangling from his shoulders. 

He held her tight with one arm, the other holding his coffee out to the side so it wouldn’t spill, laughing. “Well...It’s going to be cold in the bleachers, so...goddamn you look adorable in this…”

“Miss Evelyn, would you like a tissue?”

“SHUT UP Cole, I’m not crying!” snapped Evelyn’s tearful, disembodied voice from the kitchen. “Go...do...coffee. Or something.”

  
  


The ball careened his way and Krem caught it, whirling immediately. Ball tucked under his arm, he ran like hell was on his heels, dodging and ducking the massive crush of sweaty bodies charging around him. He heard a surprised scream over his shoulder that told him Rocky had clipped somebody. Dalish shot past on his right side and drove an opposing player twice her size to the ground before he could reach Krem. Shouting, screaming, cheering, all assaulted his senses as he ran, but he tuned it out. There was the thud of fleshy bodies hitting each other, colliding and hitting the ground, the tearing squish of grass and mud churning underfoot. 

He slid across the goal line on his knees and pounded the ball to the ground.

“Successful try by Aclassi of the Bull’s Chargers!” the loudspeaker blasted. The crowd was going wild as he clambered back to his feet, sweat dripping from his hair, adrenaline coursing through him. He could hear his coach shouting encouragement, and then Stitches was clapping him on the shoulder with a thumbs up. Dalish nearly jumped right up into his arms hugging him. Krem couldn’t help grinning, holding her up one handed while his eyes searched the crowd. A pale finger from Dalish pointed Ellana out, on her feet clapping and cheering wildly. The day was clear and sunny after last week’s rain, the sun glinting off her fiery hair, the tiny studs lining her pointed ear, her face bright with elation. She had his jacket on over a red ribbed turtleneck and a miniskirt with a large silver buckle, along with her usual stockings and boots. Evelyn was with her, cheering on the arm of Officer Rutherford, looking as bemused as ever as to how exactly he’d ended up here. Krem raised a hand to wave their way, muscled arm glistening copper with sweat. His grin widened when she sat down abruptly, hiding her cheeks in her hands and smiling. Evelyn waved at him too, wearing a strappy green top and black jeans, even in this weather. She appeared to have commandeered Cullen’s jacket, but he seemed fine in a light black blazer and slacks.

“Head in the game, lover boy!” Skinner snarked, ribbing him with a sharp elbow.

 

The opposing team fudged their conversion and the players reset. Silence descended on the field again as they waited for the starting whistle.  Krem’s heart rate was steady, breathing slowed, focused entirely on the game now. The whistle blasted and he was ready. The players surged forward. There was a scuffle for the ball, then Grim had it and was bolting away with Skinner viciously guarding his side, teeth bared like a wolf. Krem turned to bring up his rear when he was hit from the side by something vaguely resembling a freight train. An enormous player tackled him around the stomach and smashed his head into the grass, pushing down hard with the flat of his palm. 

It was a foul. The whistle would blast any minute. The pressure increased. He didn’t even have the ball--He stifled a scream when the bridge of his nose snapped, mud and grass choking him as his mouth filled with blood. He saw stars. The sound around him seemed to slow down, whirling in a vacuum as he struggled to buck the larger player off of him, shoulders and legs straining to push up, but he was pinned. From far off he heard shouting and then finally the whistle, shrill and commanding, blasted several times. The crowd was hissing and booing. Someone directly above, Rocky, was shouting angrily and pushing at the hulking player who aimed a swift punch to Krem’s ribs before he was yanked back by the back of the collar by Iron Bull. Dalish was screaming foul language in Elvish, holding Skinner back by both arms. 

The offending player, a human who had no business being as enormous and bulky as he was, was being hauled off by security. He spat at Krem as he pushed himself up on shaking arms, clutching his broken nose, and hurled one, disgusting word at him before Iron Bull interceded and blocked the player’s view of Krem. 

“What the fuck did you say!?” Skinner screeched, pulling hard to free herself. Dalish was still swearing, and Grim smoldered dangerously, fists clenched and shaking. Krem groaned, letting Stitches hoist him up with an arm like a thick branch of mahogany around his back. The player repeated the phrase with derision. Krem was on his own feet and in front of him in a flash, rearing back with a clenched fist that collided hard with the man’s nose. He felt a satisfying crunch and the player bellowed and howled with pain before Iron Bull was between them again and Stitches and Grim were both holding Krem back.

“Chief, he said--” Krem was growling. Referees shouted, players argued, and the crowd was losing its mind.

“I heard. I’ll deal with it. You’ve got other problems right now.” He nodded a large, horned head the opposite direction.

“Krem!” His head jerked up. Ellana had managed to find her way onto the field and was tearing toward him, hair streaming as she ran her. Cullen wasn’t far behind her, shouting into his cellphone, badge glinting on his hip. 

“El--” he coughed, blood dripping from his lips. She barreled into his chest and he grunted in pain. Ellana stepped back and started dabbing at his mouth with a hankie. He found himself wondering who the hell carried actual handkerchief around anymore? His adorable elfy little girlfriend, that’s who, he argued with himself. 

“That was a foul!” she stomped a tiny foot. “That fucking bastard!”

Krem shrugged a shoulder with nonchalance he didn’t feel. “It’s rugby. Shit happens…” he muttered, wincing. Ellana dabbed at his nose with the little scrap of linen, painstakingly gentle. Sheltered by his teammates and the broad form of his coach, Krem smoothed the hair back from her forehead, heart squeezing. 

“Faggot’s got a little dyke girlfriend!” one of the other team’s players taunted. Krem’s expression darkened and he turned, growling. “Or maybe she’s got ‘erself a cock under that little skirt!”

Bull rumbled dangerously and turned, catching Skinner by the waist as she broke free from Dalish’s grasp with an angry shriek, eyes blazing. No one noticed Ellana slip under the Qunari’s arm and zip right up to the cocky dwarven player until it was too late.

“CUP CHECK!” she shouted at the same moment Cullen shouted, ‘Ellana, no!’ Her foot smashed into the dwarf’s crotch with a sickening noise. Every single man on the field winced as a high-pitched wail split the air. Another player raised a fist, but Bull caught his wrist just as Krem grabbed Ellana around the waist and hauled her away, the redhead spitting and hissing like a cat. 

“Don’t you fucking raise your fist to my girlfriend!” Krem bellowed, face contorted in anger.

“Girlfriend?” Ellana asked with a quiet squeak, calming immediately.

“That is goddamn well enough out of all of you!” Thundered the Iron Bull.

It wasn’t Bull’s voice that silenced the chaos, however. A rich, beautiful voice rang out across the field. “Samson, if you don’t control those bigoted brutes of yours, we will have no recourse other than to declare your team forfeit and banned from this year’s league activities.” Vivienne de Fer was gliding across the grass, sheer elegance in a tailored white suit and stilettos. How she managed to walk in needle-slim heels in the grass, and without a single smudge of green on her suit was something that would be the topic of discussion for years. The district administrator followed close behind, in modest flats and a purple skirt.

“I don’t know how they do these things in Kirkwall, coach,” Josephine bristled. “But we maintain a certain standard of decorum in Ferelden, even with regards to our more brutal past times. This kind of inflammatory behavior is most unsportsmanlike.”

The dean turned a gentle look on Ellana, still being held off the ground in Krem’s arms. “Getting into trouble again, I see, Miss Lavellan?” she asked, a hint of amusement twinkling in her eyes. Ellana squeaked. De Fer’s languid gaze landed on Krem next. “You, dear, have seen better days. Why don’t you ‘hit the showers’, as they say? I’ve sent the school nurse to wait for you there.”

“Shouldn’t we...stay?” he asked, eyes darting to where Cullen was angrily berating both coaches, red in the face. Samson, the greasy-haired Kirkwall coach bore the brunt of it, the blond police officer hurling words like “hate crime” and “goddamned fucking asshole” at him. Evelyn had appeared next to him, bristling angrily as he held her back without much of a struggle on his part. Occasionally she interjected a helpful ‘yeah!’ or a ‘so there!’ Josephine was taking scrupulous notes and declaring her intention to take the issue all the way to Ferelden’s board of higher education. 

Vivienne snorted in a way that would have been called indelicate had it come from anyone else. “You let me handle this nonsense. You’re injured. There will be plenty of time for depositions later.”

 

“ASSHOLES!” fumed Ellana, pacing the men’s locker room while Krem was tended to by an unusually handsome nurse. 

He’d been treated by Anders before, knew that the young ginger was fawned over by practically every girl, and several men, in school. Even he had to admit Anders was good-looking, which made the way he was being scrutinized very uncomfortable. The nurse had cleaned the blood up off his face, and changed into fresh sterile gloves.

“Let’s...take care of this first off…” he muttered, pinching the bridge of Krem’s nose. “This is going to hurt,” he said unnecessarily. There was a sharp crack and Krem yelped in pain, stars blistering his vision. A stiff band-aid with a strip of metal at its center was laid down the length of his nose, and another on each side to help keep the shape. “There we are,” Anders chirped. “Should heal quite nicely…”

He went on to check Krem’s pulse, flashed a penlight in his eyes, and then pulled out the stethoscope. Krem tensed. “Alright, please remove your shirt…” Anders started. Krem darted a look at Ellana, still pacing and fluctuating between fury and concern. Anders followed his line of sight. “Ah...very well.” Cold hands reached under Krem’s shirt and prodded firmly at his ribs. “I’m going to put my hand up under the back…” The icy instrument slipped under his binder and pressed against his skin. “And just over the front…”

Krem breathed a sigh of relief when the process was complete. Ellana slid next to him on the bench as soon as she saw that the nurse was finished, clinging to Krem’s arm protectively.

“Well, aside from a few bruised ribs and your poor nose, you’re in fantastic health, Cremisius.” Anders gave him an charming smile. “Try to go a single game this season without breaking something, alright? Though, I’d say you’ve got quite a better nurse here than I am…”

Ellana squirmed with pride. 

 

They sat quietly together when Anders departed, fingers twined tight. Krem was certain Anders would have something to say about his heart rate now. Any moment, she was going to ask, and that would be it. She’d probably hate him, regret risking herself for him out on the field…

“Krem?”

He swallowed. “Y-yeah?”

“Are you okay?”

“I-I...I’ll be fine…”

“I’ll never understand how people can be so cruel.” She frowned at the floor, leaned her head against his shoulder. “Calling you names like that...that fucking word…I hate it. I hate that word.”

“Dyke?”

She glared at him. “Well, yes, but you know the one I mean!”

He looked at his feet. “Yeah...you’re….I’m sure you’re wondering--I mean…” He scratched the back of his neck. His throat felt tight and thick.

Then her lips were on his, tender and gentle. Slowly, he moved his hand to cup the back of her head. She pulled back and gazed up at him with earnest eyes. “You can tell me anything, Krem,” she whispered. “But only if you want to.”

His lip trembled, but he refused it. He wasn’t going to do that. He could do this without crying. But she was so comfortable in his arms, small frame so perfectly fitted to him, soft and sweet. What if she hated him? What is she felt deceived? He couldn’t bear the thought that he might never hold her like this again, never kiss her pretty lips or hear her laugh. He swallowed and braced himself. “I’m...I’ve got...ugh. Ellana, I’m trans. Bull got the league rules changed to let girls play so he could get me on the team ‘cause I didn’t pass back then.” He let it all out in one breath, then gulped air into his lungs and held it.

She smiled. Leaned her head on his shoulder, hugging his arm. “I thought it was something like that…”

The air whooshed out of his lungs. He sputtered. “You--WHAT?!”

“Krem…” she raised an eyebrow at him. “We’ve made out like a hundred times. I’ve been on your lap, all wiggling around and kissing you...you’ve never once got an erection. There were a couple different things it could have been and...that was one of them.” She shrugged while Krem gaped at her. “I didn’t want to push you into telling me if you weren’t ready…So I never brought it up.”

“Damnit!” he cursed. “I knew I should have gone with a stiffer packer...Y-you…” he covered his mouth, a frustrated blush tinting his amber cheeks. “You just...figured it out?! You don’t get to just do that! That’s not fair! I was agonizing over telling you this and you just--just...Y-you’re okay with it?” His incredulous, rather irritated look gave way to one of relief and wonder. “You’re okay with me?”

She laughed and kissed him again, taking particular care not to bump his nose. “I’m way more than okay with you, Cremisius.” Slim fingers stroked down his cheek, dropped off his chin to rest over his heart. He shivered and her smile spread. “You called me your girlfriend out there…”

“I did not.”

“I heard you.”

“You did not.”

Ellana tilted his chin to look at her. He complied with a shy glance from beneath his lashes. “Does that make you my boyfriend?” She asked sweetly.

“Yes please,” he murmured, breathless. Her lips rushed up to meet his, arms wrapping tight around him. He pulled her into his lap fingers twisting in the fabric of his own jacket draped over her shoulders. The faint taste of blood still lingered on his tongue, along with...mud. And grass. She pulled back and picked a piece of grass out of her mouth, glaring at it. “Uh...maybe I should go wash up…”

“Yes please,” she laughed. 

 

She was waiting outside for him when Krem finished his shower, talking with Cullen and her sister. His nose was beginning to bruise, along with his left cheek and several tender spots along his ribcage. His hair hung damp and dripping over his forehead, his skin still glistening with water. Ellana took one look at him and her face turned beet red. “Creators, Krem...your poor face…”

“S’not my face you’re staring at,” he replied, grinning. It was strange. He’d expected some kind of change, a slight tension between them at least, but there was only the feeling of soft relief, barely noticeable tucked away within their usual banter.

Cullen cleared his throat. “Cremisius...I wanted to know...whether you intend to press charges?”

He looked up in surprise. “Charges?”

The blond officer nodded. “We can charge that young man with a hate crime, if you want to push for it. It’s possible they could retaliate against you for punching him back, and against Ellana for…” He gave her a stern look that was ruined completely by an amused twitch of his scarred lip. She beamed up at him.

“I’m so proud of you…” Evelyn brushed a tear from the corner of her eye, and Cullen shot her an exasperated glance.

“Anyway...I’m willing to vouch for the two of you. I’m no lawyer, but I’m fairly certain we could win any case they try to throw at us.”

Ellana had insinuated herself under Krem’s arm, hugging him tightly around the middle with her head on his chest. She looked up at him with a curious expression. 

“I…” he sighed and rubbed at his forehead. “Could we maybe talk about it later?”

“Of course,” Cullen said quickly. “We’ll be in touch, I’m sure…”

Evelyn grinned.

 

The game had been cancelled. With three of the opposing team’s players under scrutiny and the possibility of being banned from the league, the season’s roster would have to be recalculated. Krem was bitter and disappointed, even more eager than before to score a win against the Kirkwall team, and maybe break a few noses. The rest of the team didn’t seem to mind the delay, too busy worrying over their friend. Dalish had immediately attached herself to Krem, squishing Ellana between them, hugging and fawning over them both. Skinner was still spitting curses like an oil fire. Stitches appeared to be the only one who had remained calm, but Krem had a dark suspicion that he, Rocky, and Grim were organizing some kind of revenge. The Iron Bull just clapped him hard on the shoulder. He looked...proud. It was hard to tell with the eyepatch, but Krem was sure of it. 

 

“Are you sure you’re okay to drive?” Ellana fretted while walking back to the parking lot on Krem’s arm.

“I’m fine. These are pretty standard injures for rugby...just, y’know, usually spaced out over the game a little.” He shrugged, then winced as the motion tugged at a bruised rib. Sharp violet eyes caught it immediately and she frowned.

“Maybe I should drive you home…”

“Can you drive stick?” 

“Um.”

“Thought not. I’m driving. You’re sitting in the passenger’s seat and behaving yourself.”

“When have I ever behaved myself?”

Krem snorted, then groaned and clapped a hand over his nose, whining in pain. “I’m fine…” he grumbled at his girlfriend’s concerned look. That was one nice thing. ‘Girlfriend’. It sounded nice.

“You’re sure?” her voice was quiet, brows knitted with worry.

Krem sighed. “You’re not asking about my injuries, are you?” She shook her head. “I’m...it’s...it’s not fine, but...I’m...used to it?”

“That doesn’t mean it doesn’t still hurt!” she protested as they reached his car. 

He lifted a hand to run his fingers through her hair and pulled her forward to press a kiss to the top of her head. “Yeah, it hurts. But I’ve got you to help me feel better.” He kissed her forehead, then her nose, and each cheek before capturing her lips with his. “You’re sure you’re okay with--”

He didn’t finish his question. Her fingers locked behind his neck and she yanked him down, crushing her mouth to his. Their noses bumped, and Krem grunted a bit in pain, but his fingers dug into her hips and he pushed her against the back door of his car. Their tongues twining deliciously, he wrestled his keys from his back pocket. 

“I told you before…” Ellana gasped against him. “I’m...waaaaaay more than okay with this.” Another hungry kiss. “I like you Krem. More than anything, I like  _ you. _ ”

Her hands bumped the keys dangling from his finger as she moved her hands down to pull his hips against hers. “You just want to drive the Charger…” he teased, chuckling into another kiss. 

“What can I say?” she giggled. “Nancy’s totally my type.”

“And what about me?” The keys jingled against the door. One hand still had her hip pinned, the other searching for the lock. “Am I your type?”

“Jealous?” she smirked.

“Very,” murmured Krem in a low, thick reverberation, bending to brush soft kisses against her ear. 

“K-krem…” she squirmed. “You know how sensitive elvhen ears are!”

He hummed in his throat, ghosting his tongue against the tip. “Are they? Hadn’t noticed,” he lied. He was constantly taking liberal advantage of her pointy little ears to drag sweet sounds out of her. His tongue flicked up the long slope, the rings in her ear clinking together like little windchimes has his tongue passed over them. 

Ellana made an obscene noise somewhere between a gasp and a moan, muffled against his chest. Her fingers tugged at his belt, using the leverage to lean up and nip smartly at his jaw. The key scraped in the lock, turned. His mouth was full of her, sucking and biting at her lips and soothing each sharp flash of his teeth with a sweep of his tongue, drowning in the small needy sounds each repetition drew from her. 

Grappling at the door with one hand, the other wrapped around Ellana’s waist, he yanked it open and blindly pushed them into the backseat. Bracing himself above her, still feverishly snapping at her lips, he somehow managed to drag the door closed with his foot. His hands delved under her shirt, smoothing over the curve of her stomach, her waist, up to grasp at the cups of her bra, while continuing his hungry assault on her lips. Both were breathing hard through their noses, Krem with some small amount of pain, and gasping for air each time they parted to readjust. Krem moved his hips hard against hers, gasping into her mouth when she raked her fingers down his back and met his next thrust, nails catching on the fabric of his shirt. Her name was on his lips when he pulled one leg up around his waist and rubbed again, earning himself a sharp bite on his bottom lip that turned into a unified moan, his other hand still squeezing and kneading her breast. 

“El…” he whispered without removing his lips from hers. “Fuck...everything about you is so fuckin’ soft…”

She writhed at that with a small whine, teeth sinking into his lip again. He groaned deep in his throat, fingers pushing small dips into the pliant flesh of her breast and thigh. His lips trailed to her jaw, teeth snapping at the sensitive skin above her pulse as he went, soothing each little nip with a moist flick of his clever tongue. Reaching that tantalizing slope of her nape, he sucked hard, dragging a hiss from between her teeth when his teeth skimmed over the flesh to darken the mark. Ample attention of his tongue and lips soothed the mark before he flashed his teeth over it again. Ellana’s hips jerked against him without her volition, hissing at every graze of his teeth, moaning and trembling at the pressure of him atop her. She looped her fingers into his belt, rocking him harder against her, intent on increasing that heated friction.

“Shit…” Krem gasped against her. “Shitshitshitshit--ah! Stop, stop!” He jerked away, clutching at her hands while he rolled off to the side of her, panting hard and shaking with his face buried in her hair.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, sitting halfway up and holding his shoulders. “Did I go too far? I’m sorry--”

“N-no!” He laughed weakly and pulled her back down with a little groan. “I’m...I- I nearly came…” he puffed another laugh against her neck. “Holy shit…”

Ellana held him close, stroking his hair and letting him pillow his cheek on her chest while he came down. She inhaled the piney scent of the oil he used to slick back his hair and hummed a contented sigh, cradling his head between her neck and shoulder. Krem slipped his arms around her waist, and brushed a soft kiss against the bruise he’d sucked into her skin. He grinned when she gave a delicious shudder, and pressed kiss after long, loving kiss there. 

“You’re amazing, El…” he murmured, caressing the skin of her stomach beneath her shirt. “I can’t even believe how lucky I am.”

“I feel like I’m the lucky one…” she hummed. “I never thought I’d meet someone like you, someone who makes me feel so protected and safe...Every time I look at you I feel like I’m home. Who’d have guessed some dorky theater kid would end up with the most handsome flyback in Ferelden?”

“And dry humping him in the backseat of the world’s sexiest Charger.” A laugh rumbled in his chest as she swatted at him with a playful smack. “Hey now, I’m injured!”

“You’re a butthead is what you are,” she giggled, dusting a kiss over his nose. “But, you’re my butthead. And you’re more incredible than I ever could have imagined.”

“You imagined it?” he grinned. 

Her cheeks were immediately on fire. “N-no…”

“You totally did.”

“No! It’s not like I ever thought up imaginary scenarios about the cute guy who always orders a flat white, no sugar and tips really well and has a smile that knocks my knees out from under me!” she babbled in a rush.

“Uh huh. Meaning that’s exactly what you did,” Krem concluded.

“Yes, that is exactly what I did.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAY IT'S DONE, WE CAN MOVE ON TO MORE FLUFF.  
> Again, if you have ANY CONCERNS AT ALLLLLLLLLL please message me so we can talk about it and what I can do to correct it. I am here to learn and grow as much as anyone, so please don't hesitate to approach me at all. I encourage it.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FLUUUUFFFFFFFF

Krem woke up surrounded by warm, comfortable darkness, broken only by a gentle orange glow that filtered in through gauzy curtains. He ached everywhere, his nose felt like it was actually made of pain, and there was as soft weight on his side, the smell of lilacs and vanilla tickling his senses. He came fully awake with a panicked jerk. Ellana was sleeping with her head on his chest, his arm curled around her, their bare legs tangled beneath lavender sheets. Heart racing, he took a deep breath, peeked under the blankets, and let the breath out with a relieved whoosh, relaxing back against the pillows.

They still had their clothes on.

His binder was off, but he still had his undershirt and boxer briefs on, though his packer was missing. A quick glance around the room and he spotted it tossed absurdly in a pile with his binder and pants. Ellana was in a slip-like nightie and silky shorts, make up smeared around her eyes. He could see a red imprint on her cheek from the ribbing of his shirt, and feel the gentle, soft swell of her breasts against his arm, rising and falling with the quiet rhythm of her breathing.

They hadn’t had sex.

As the blur of sleep cleared, his memory was creeping back. They’d made out in the backseat like a couple of horny teenagers. He’d nearly made a mess of his pants and his leather seats. They’d lain together, just talking. Her fingers ran through his hair, a constant reassurance. Then he’d driven them back to her apartment and...they’d ended up in bed, kissing noisily, hands roaming, clothes falling away...and then they’d slept. Curled together, her fingers twisted with his, her lips pressed against the back of his hand as her eyes drifted shut.

Krem found his phone plugged in on a bedside table, and leaned over to grab it, careful not to disturb the elf still snoozing beside him.

He had about a million missed calls, voicemails, and texts, the most ominous of which was Dorian’s brief, tense, ‘call me’. With a period. Call me, period. Shit. With an apologetic glance at Elana, he dialed the teacher’s number.

“Where in the seven hells are you?” Dorian’s usually calm, careless drawl was shattered as he picked up on the first ring.

“‘M with El…” he mumbled, still sleepy, fingers running through her hair. He smiled when her lips twitched in her sleep and she snuggled closer.

“Well, bully for you! Didn’t think to let anyone know, did you?!”

“I am a grown man.”

“You--!! Fasta vass, stop it, let me scold him!” There was a loud scuffle on the other end. The Iron Bull could be heard rumbling in the background, something that sounded suspiciously like ‘ask him if he scored’.

Krem stifled a snort. “I’m fine, Pavus. Really.”

“Well next time some transphobic gutter gorilla breaks your face and you decide to abscond on a night of debauchery with your girlfriend, kindly let someone know! Bull’s been worried sick! I’VE been worried!” His voice cracked and there was a pause, almost as if he were surprised by the betrayal of emotion in his own voice. “We thought you’d been...I-I don’t know what we thought…”

Krem swallowed, his throat thick. “Sorry. I didn’t really think...I just figured--”

“No, you didn’t think, did you? It’s...it’s fine. I’m fine. We’re just glad you’re alright.”

“Gave us a scare there, kiddo,” rumbled the voice of his coach.

“Sorry, Chief. Really.”

“‘S fine. Some notice’d be nice next time, though.”

“I promise, coach,” Krem grinned.

“We love you, Cremisius,” Dorian’s soft voice returned. “You worried us sick.”

“I…” the younger man’s heart pinched. “I love you guys too…”

“You love me?” A quiet voice near his shoulder asked. Ellana was awake, elf eyes glinting oddly in the low light.

Krem jumped and gave an undignified squawk, toppling onto the floor with a crash. Hysterical laughter could be heard from the speaker of his phone.

“I told you I could get him to do it!” Pavus was sobbing through cackling laughter. He was cut off when Krem slammed a finger on the screen and ended the call. Ellana peeked over the edge of the bed innocently.

“You alright?” she asked with a yawn.

“The...the eyes…” he moaned, laughing and clutching a sore rib. “I forgot about the eyes.”

She grinned and batted her eyelashes. “Spooky, right? Makes Halloween a fun time!”

Krem picked himself up and leaned up to kiss the devious little elf on the nose, then moved to her lips. Her tongue was a pleasant surprise, even considering their dry morning mouths. He cupped her face close to his with a dark hand and tilted his head to explore her more thoroughly.

“Want breakfast?” she asked when they parted. “Evie makes the best pancakes!”

 

Krem dressed himself while Ellana wandered into the hall to pound on her sister’s door. He pulled his binder back on, then his jeans. His packer he tossed in the overnight bag he’d brought from the trunk of his car. He wanted a good long shower before he bothered with that. As he was packing the rest of his things away, a commotion in the hall caught his attention. There was a scream, a shriek, a series of thumps, a great deal of swearing, and a deep bark, before Ellana zipped back into her room, slamming the door shut behind her and bracing herself against it. Her lips were sucked between her teeth, and she seemed to be trying not to laugh.

“Officer Rutherford seems to have spent the night as well,” she giggled, tugging self-consciously at her rather skimpy nightclothes, an embarrassed flush in her cheeks.

Krem choked out a laugh of his own, moving forward to draw her into his arms and kiss her forehead, his hands skimming down her back to rest at the low waistband around her hips. She buried her face in her hands and pressed against him, still laughing bashfully.

“Think he liked what he saw?” asked Krem with a devious laugh.

Ellana smacked at his chest. “NO!”

His hands slipped lower to cup a fleshy cheek in each hand, pulling her closer until he could feel the stiffened nipples beneath the silky fabric of her slip, not quite opaque enough to conceal the perky little buds. “I like what I see,” he murmured against her ear with an appreciative squeeze, his fingers sinking into the pliant softness of her bottom. She pulled back and fixed him with a reprimanding look, while mischievous carnelian eyes gave her an appraising sweep. Krem eased her expression into a more agreeable one with kisses scattered across her freckled cheeks and the scolding pout of her lips.

Breakfast was awkward.

The two Lavellan sisters chatted with animation while Krem and Cullen avoided each other’s eyes and kept their mouths occupied with pancakes. A large black Mabari sat at Krem’s side, staring at him with unnervingly intent green eyes. He avoided those eyes, too. Fereldens and their dogs...He darted a nervous glance at her, and she was had somehow moved her great bulk even closer without his notice. She stared up at him with the tip of her tongue sticking out for a long, tense moment, then plopped her heavy head onto his knee and licked her nose. With no small amount of hesitation, Krem gave her a ginger pat on the head, and the dog sighed through her nose. Reassured that he wasn’t about to be mauled, he slipped her a dry bit of pancake under the table, which she gobbled noisily.

“Guin,” Cullen said sharply. “Leave him alone, he’s eating. Sorry, is she bothering you?” His face was red all the way down to the collar of his white t-shirt and up to the tips of his ears.

“N-no, she’s fine,” Krem replied quickly. Guin yawned and drooled on his knee.

“She’s still a pup,” explained the officer with an apologetic nod. “And a very obstinate one, at that.” He leveled a significant look at the canine in question, who whined rather pathetically. The younger man smiled and scratched her behind the ears. When he looked up again, Ellana was grinning at him, elbows propped on the table, cheeks squished against her hands. His face heated and he turned his attention back to his plate with a shy smile.

“Good with animals, good taste in coffee, good tipper…” Evelyn mused through a mouth full of pancakes and syrup. “Nice catch, El.”

Cullen harumphed under his breath. The elder Lavellan kicked him under the table.

“He’s protective,” she explained. “Territorial.”

“Just like a mabari,” grinned Krem. “Fereldens…”

“Excuse me,” grumped Cullen while the two sisters burst out laughing and Guinevere barked happily.

 

* * *

 

 

The Iron Bull slapped Krem on the shoulder hard enough to knock him into the wall when he entered their apartment.

“Ow.”

“My little Krem-puff got Krem Bru-LAID!” bellowed the Qunari with a jovial laugh.

“How long have you been waiting to use that one?” groused the younger man, rubbing at his bruised ribs.

“Years,” replied Dorian from the couch. “Don’t deprive him of it.”

Krem snorted. “‘S a damn shame, cause I didn’t. Not to mention I’m not exactly a virgin in the first place.”

“Andraste’s flaming tits, boy!” shouted the coach, clapping a large hand to his forehead at the same time as Dorian nearly face-planted into the coffee table when he lept to his feet in outrage and yelled, “You spent the night and you didn’t bother to ravage her?!”

Krem rolled his eyes and made a beeline for his room, slinging his bag over his shoulder. His fellow Tevene fumbled his cellphone from the pocket of the tight slacks that clung around his hips. The younger man turned with a perturbed expression as Pavus began to dial. “What...what are you doing?” He asked. The bag fell to the ground as he crossed the room to put a stop to whatever madness the professor was planning. “Stop, who are you calling? Stop that, stop dialing--”

“Ellana!” Dorian shouted into the receiver.

“NO!”

Dorian easily held the younger man at bay with a hand against his forehead. “Ellana! I would like to apologize for Cremisius and his horrific, gentlemanly behavior last night! You heard me! There’s absolutely no excuse at all for that kind of disgusting amount of gallantry! It is an insult! He should have given you a proper fu--get OFF, you insufferably courteous monster--”

Krem wrestled the phone away and hit the ‘call end’ button. “Stop trying to sabotage me,” he said in a deadpan, flinging the phone back.

“Tryin’ to get you laid, more like,” protested the Bull.

Krem groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’m perfectly capable of doing that myself, thanks.”

“Apparently not!” Dorian burst.

An exasperated sigh puffed from Krem’s lips as he moved to pass around the bulk of his coach and into the hallway, but the Qunari put a large hand out to stop him, then dragged him into a bracing hug, careful of Krem’s ribs.

“I’m glad you’re okay, kid,” he said in a gruff tone, clapping him on the shoulder, more gently this time.

Dorian came up behind him and hugged him tight around the middle. “Me, too,” he murmured. The two older men released him and pushed him back toward his room. Krem went, smiling, and rubbing the back of his neck.

 

* * *

 

 

“Okay,” Krem groaned. “Everyone needs to stop hugging me. My ribs are already bruised, I don’t need you lot crushing them.” He physically peeled Dalish and Grim off of him.

Monday morning, his teammates gave him a good ribbing, figuratively, in consideration for his injuries. They hounded him over his ‘elopement’ with Ellana, as they put it.

“We thought you’d be dead in a ditch next morning, and you’d only gone off and knocked boots with yer girlfriend!” Dalish scolded.

“I--we didn’t even...there was no knocking of anything!”

“Dumbass,” Stitches said with a rueful shake of his head.

As the team headed for the practice field, Skinner pulled her friend aside with a sharp jerk. Krem waited expectantly as the elf scuffed the toe of her cleat at the ground, tearing up grass and dirt.

“Um...I’m sorry,” she muttered in her thick Orlesian accent. “About always teasing you about dicks and...stuff.”

“What.” Krem said with flat disbelief.

“You know!”

“I’m positive I don’t.”

Skinner went red in the face and stomped her cleated foot. “Telling you to send Ellana dick pics and everything!”

“Oh. That was ages ago.” He frowned. “Why’re you sorry? That was hilarious.”

“Because of the game!” she screeched. At Krem’s blank look, Skinner continued. “That...that transphobic sodding troglodyte!” The city-bred elf began to stammer uncharacteristically. “I just never...thought about it. You’re just Krem. I didn’t think...they were stupid jokes, and I didn’t mean to…” Her lips twitched and she looked supremely uncomfortable. “I’m just sorry, okay? I don’t do...feelings. But I didn’t mean to hurt yours.”

“Skinner…” he said, voice soft. Krem placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “That was the most boring apology I’ve ever heard.”

“Ass!” She slapped his hand away with a glare.

The fly-half only laughed. “Skinner, it’s you. The only way you know how to be friends is to shit on everyone. How can I be mad when I know that when you’re telling me to eat my own ass, you’re just saying ‘I love you’?”

“I hate you so much,” she grumbled.

“Love you, too,” he wrestled an arm around her neck and pressed a fat kiss to the top of her head. She swiped at him with a clawed hand.

“Die in a literal fire, Aclassi!”

“Now, you know I’m seeing someone, right? That’s gone entirely too far, although I suppose I could ask El…”

“Oi, Krem,” the smaller woman growled. “You bruised on this rib here?” She jabbed a sharp, tawny finger at it.

“Uh...no…?”

She punched him there.

 

* * *

 

 

Ellana was overjoyed to find her new boyfriend waiting for her after her first class that day. Coach Iron Bull, after about twenty minutes of arguing, put his foot down and made Cremisius sit practice out for at least a week while he healed. The young man was adamant that he could play just fine, until Skinner helpfully bruised yet another rib for him. Left with nothing else to do that day, he’d decided to wait in the hall for Ellana’s photography class to let out.

“Krem!” she cried, hugging him with careful attention to his injuries.

He caught her up in his arms, ignoring the ache in his ribs in favor of kissing her long and gentle, hands skimming up her back as he let her slip back to the ground. He smiled at the little shiver that raced down her spine. “Good morning, beautiful,” he murmured against her cheek before kissing it.

“‘Morning handsome,” she responded brightly. She had his jacket on over a v-necked sweater.

“UGH,” added Sera, emerging from the classroom, pretending to vomit.

Krem snorted. “Hi, Sera.”

“Get a room,” the blonde shot with good-natured snark. She punched his arm as she shouldered her patchworked bag. “Glad you’re doin’ alright, alright? Later!”

“Charming, isn’t she?” laughed Ellana. “Oh, speaking of charming…” She dug around in her bag for a moment, then presented Krem with a laminated copy of a polaroid. It was the picture she’d taken of him the first day they’d hung out, the grey light catching on beads of rain that clung to his skin, shining like brass.

Krem took it, in awe. “You made me a copy!”

“I keep forgetting to give it to you…” she smiled and swayed her shoulders with a shy smile. “So much has happened…”

Krem pulled her back into his arms. “I love it,” he murmured against the top of her head. He felt her back expanding as she breathed his cologne in deeply; it brought another smile to his lips as he rubbed the small of her back with a large, tawny hand. Her fingers gripped his shirt tightly while she pressed her cheek against his chest, dark lashes dusting her cheeks. Krem slipped a dark finger under her chin and dropped his lips to hers again.

A coy smile spread as she kissed him. “Want to go hang out at my place?” she asked.

Krem grinned wickedly. “Oh, yes.”

 

* * *

  


Cullen wasn’t entirely sure how he kept ending up in these situations.

He sat in the Herald’s Rest, on his day off, Guinevere laying at his feet with a bagel, waiting for Evelyn to hand her shift over to Cole.

The first time, she’d invited him to attend a mutual friend’s party with her. Rather, she’d instructed him to go with her. The second time, she’d told him that they would split the cost of a movie, which he had insisted upon paying for before he even realized that she’d just asked--told--him out on a date. Then there’d been a romantic dinner, that awkward movie date with her sister and that rugby kid, then the rugby game. Somehow, he’d ended up sleeping over that night, though to be fair, there hadn’t been much sleeping...He shook his head quickly, raking a hand through blond curls.

Now he was waiting to take a walk with her around a nearby park while the dark-haired woman finished up in the kitchen.

“Alright, Cole, remember to lock up and get home on time. I’ll get the key back from you tomorrow,” the short woman was saying as she untied a flour-dusted apron. “Call me if anything weird happens, and if Sera comes in saying I told her should could have a free scone, she’s a fucking liar.”

“Yes, Miss Evelyn,” the young man replied quietly.

“And stop calling me ‘miss’.”

“Yes, Miss Evelyn.”

Cullen stifled a snort at her exasperated groan.

 

On their walk through the park, they made it to the first tree large enough to hide behind before Cullen pushed her up against it, leaving Guin tethered nearby, where the lazy pup was happy to roll around and sunbathe. Cullen tangled his hands in Evelyn’s dark curls as her tongue fought his for dominance. He was glad to give her that battle, making a strategic sacrifice of it. He took his own win in the form of hitching her leg over his hip and rolling gently against her.

He wasn’t sure what this was, exactly. Things had progressed so fast and out of control, there hadn’t been a chance to put a name to it. Evelyn and her sister seemed to treat him like family already, and his own sisters were quite curious about them. He would have liked to be able to say ‘yes, she’s my girlfriend’, in response to their continued inquiries, but there never seemed to be an appropriate moment to bring the subject up. It certainly wasn’t now, with an exceedingly lovely set of full, heavy breasts pressed against him and her fingers weaving through his curled. An image came unbidden to his mind of a very similar encounter with significantly less clothing; those hands in his hair, those soft breasts against his hot cheeks as her bare hips lowered down over him...repeatedly.

“Well, hello,” Evelyn murmured against his scarred lip.

“Er. Hello,” Cullen blushed. “Sorry, I was thinking about...well…”

“I can imagine,” she laughed, her leg slipping down off his hip. He moaned quietly at the loss of her warmth and adjusted his belt to better accommodate the raging hardon pressing against the fabric of his slacks. Evelyn collected a reluctant Guinevere, and they resumed their walk.

Cullen coughed. “Um...Evie? Can we...what exactly--Is...this?” He gestured vaguely between them.

“Some people call it a park,” she said helpfully.

“Har, har,” the blond man rolled his eyes before dropping his volume to a soft murmur. “I meant us.”

There was a long silence. Leaves cracked and crunched underfoot, skittered across the pavement with each little breath of wind.

“What do you want this to be?” Evelyn finally asked.

Cullen slipped an arm around her waist and held her against his side. They walked silently for a few more moments.

“I want it to mean something,” he whispered at length. “I want something meaningful and...and easy, and…wait that sounds terrible.” He shook his head while Evelyn made no attempt at all to hold back a bark of laughter. “I’m a very tired man, Evelyn.”

She stifled her giggles at this, and let her head rest on his shoulder. The officer ran a hand over his face, over a forehead creased with worry, dark circles and the beginnings of faint lines around his eyes and mouth. He was still quite young and handsome at merely thirty-three, but he had clearly not lead an easy life.

“I get that,” the smaller woman said. “I’m tired, too. Raised my sister since she was ten, after our parents died, dropped out of college to build a business from scratch to support us...It’s hard to find someone who’s...okay with a package deal,” she mused. “El’s part of the package. I guess Krem is now, too…”

Cullen nodded his understanding. “I have siblings, too. Two sisters, and a brother. Ellana reminds me a lot of my youngest sister, actually. Red hair, cute as a button, reckless as hell…”

“Is that why you always glare at poor Krem?” Evelyn grinned.

Cullen ran a hand through blond curls. “Well, yes...he’s a fine young man, but...I’m morally opposed any sort of man putting their hands on my sisters.” They both shared a laugh at that. “I guess I’ve acquired another family…”

“Good,” the elven woman nodded.

“So, what does that make us? This?” he gestured between them again.

“Family,” she smiled. “Our lives may not be simple. But we can be.”

Cullen returned her smile with relief and tightened his hold on her, gently pressing a kiss to her forehead. “That suits me perfectly.”

 

* * *

 

 

Krem panted against his girlfriend’s warm, open mouth as they caught their breath before their lips crashed together again. She let an uninhibited moan shudder through her when he sucked at her tongue, scraping his teeth over it as his hands dug into the flesh of her hips and urged her harder against him. Ellana pushed him back against the armrest of the couch, cushioning his neck with interlocked fingers. Their kisses were noisy and reckless as they moved together, urging each other higher and higher.

The way she moved against him drove Krem wild. She had such a passion in everything she did, a loving kind of desperation, an emotional, and certainly physical need to feel him against her. And of course, he was happy to comply. He thought of all the times she would find excuses to touch him; slipping a hand through the crook of his arm, leaning on his shoulder, brushing a strand of hair from his forehead, their fingers brushing together, touching the tips of her fingers to his cheek for no other reason than to feel the smooth, warm copper of his skin. The way she loved was tactile, tangible. She thrived on his touch, craved the reassurance of his presence, needed to fall into his arms and feel safe and cared for.

He wrapped those strong arms more tightly around her, treating himself to another long, deep kiss and arching his back to feel her pressed against his chest. Her breath danced across his wet lips with a gentle gasp when long fingers knotted into the curls at the base of her neck, and he mouthed against the underside of her jaw. Her thighs tightened around his hips, and Krem moaned against the side of her neck, letting his lips drag down the tender skin. He could feel how wet she was, even through his jeans. Her panties must have been absolutely soaked. The thought alone was enough to send a fresh spark of heat between his own legs.

“Krem,” she said with a breathless whine. “I...I want you…”

His heart might have burst through his chest at those words. That warm, heavy feeling between his thighs increased, pulsing wildly. “Fasta vass...Yes. Yes, please, yes,” he babbled, gasping. His hands slipped up under her skirt, pulling at the waistband of her pantyhose, fumbling in his impatience.

Just then, the door swung open in the kitchen, and Krem picked Ellana bodily up off his lap and deposited the confused elven girl next to him on the couch, cheeks ablaze with embarrassment.

“I should damn well think not,” Cullen growled, shedding his coat as he entered, Evelyn laughing behind him. The sound of claws clattering and slipping on the kitchen tile were followed by a large, black mess of muscle and fur bulldozing its way into Krem’s chest, knocking the wind completely out of him. “Guinevere! Get off of him!” The older man bellowed, hurrying after his pup.

The mabari ignored her master’s yells, instead licking every bit of the boy’s face with vigor while he sputtered and Ellana hauled uselessly on her collar. Cullen was across the room in a heartbeat, and plucked the overly enthusiastic mabari away as though she weighed no more than a particularly muscular feather.

“Not everyone likes being covered in dog spit, you know,” Cullen informed her. Guinevere gave his face a happy lick and then sat very politely at Krem’s feet. “Are you alright Cremisius?”

“Fine,” he wheezed, his head in Ellana’s lap as he clutched his ribs. “‘S fine. ‘M fine.”

“Guin,” Evelyn scolded, moving into the living room with an ice pack for Krem. “You need to ask permission before jumping all over people.” She shoved the pack up the younger man’s shirt and he gave a thankful groan of relief.

Guinevere whined plaintively, nosing at Krem’s hand. He chuckled weakly and gave her a pat. “Big dummy…”

The scar on Cullen’s lip tugged as he smiled, watching his strange, new little family.

  



End file.
